


Written in Blood

by marcus_the_great



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Angst, Dark Comedy, F/M, Gen, Hyrule - Freeform, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sarcasm, Termina - Freeform, slowburn romance, we love snarky boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 43
Words: 118,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24457456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcus_the_great/pseuds/marcus_the_great
Summary: Written in Blood .{After OoT/MM fic}Hyrule is on the brink of another bloody war when he returns, the hero that had slipped away to be forgotten by the land.No longer a hero, living a life of isolation far away from the land that had made him a legend once. Resentful and broken, Link hides it best he can, trying to focus on the future and forget.But Zelda remembers him, the person he once was. He's so different now, and perhaps she is too. The whole land is, transformed by war as Ganondorf works to seize all that he believes once belonged to him, in a time no longer.Both Link and Zelda find themselves in the middle of this war, forced to fight and strategize and deal with their own inner demons as well as each other, amidst the war the Hylians fight to regain their land and defeat the King of Thieves.
Relationships: Link/Malon (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Don’t be a Wuss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosezemlya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosezemlya/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Legend of Zelda: The Return](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24314302) by [rosezemlya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosezemlya/pseuds/rosezemlya). 
  * Inspired by [The Legend of Zelda: Reconciliations](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24321118) by [rosezemlya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosezemlya/pseuds/rosezemlya). 



I never expected my day to derail to getting beat up by a crazy woman and a lizard man before getting dragged across a field against my will, but hey, I guess weird things happen to me.

I thought that'd stopped years ago though, the weird stuff. Guess not.

It was all because I'd pulled out that cursed ocarina...

———

Staring at its opaque surface, cool and almost slippery in my hands, the memories return as I rub my hand along the smooth instrument.

They fade in slowly, piling on top of each other like a light snowfall. Except they feel more like lashings. Ripping hairs out. Kicked in the shin. Something unpleasant. My long forgotten heroism, the terror caused by Ganondorf, my banishment from the future at _her_ hands. And then afterwards. My favorite part of the story. A childhood in Termina.

I don't why the name of that place makes me react like I do, gripping the ocarina tighter and pressing my back and head so hard against the tree I wouldn't be surprised to have marks for weeks. My eyes squeeze shut, trying to shut out the flashes of my experience.

_You're fine, you're past this, just forget it... for Din's sake, snap out of it!_ I snarl at myself in my head, trying to stop the squeezing and stabbing feeling in my chest, a monster unleashed.

The flashes of recollection morph into nightmarish visions, and I can't open my eyes, those eyes... they're going to stare back at me.

It's so intense, and I wait for the wave of terror to recede, my heart rate hikes up.

Why does this have to happen? From the memories that came back slowly of a time erased (by her... not me), I remember myself as a hero, courageous and a force to be reckoned with, at least I like to see it that way. He, that other Link, would never have been faced with my dilemma. He'd swat that pesky trauma away and probably be head of the guard or something. Good for him.

Meanwhile, I live a life of isolation in the woods. And guess what? It ain't too bad. It's nice, really. No more pesky princesses to use me, no more demon kings to fight. No one to bother me.

I live in the Lost Woods, deciding to not leave after I returned from Ter-, nah, I'll call it nightmare land. Anyway, getting back from the good ole' NL... I decided to set up camp here.

It's actually a really nice location, the green blends in with my tunic... which seriously need a wash... and I guess I do like watching the sunlight dapple the forest floor through the leaves and branches. And the game here isn't too bad.

Deep in the forest, no one ever comes to visit, which I don't mind, well... except for one person. Saria.

While we both know she was once the Sage of the Forest, none of the other Kokiri know. Sometimes she comes out to talk to me or play a little tune on her ocarina.

———

As the flashes from nightmare land finally subside, I open my eyes, the forest staring back at me. I take a deep breath, trying to ward off the icy feeling still in my chest. It's okay... I'm fine.

Still shaken, except I'd never admit it to anyone, I drop down through the branches, the ocarina still in my head, now slick with sweat.

At the base of the tree was where I left my gear, bundled in a pile. I might as well go now, while it's still relatively early. This'll be one of the few times I've left the forest since my return, I've preferred to stay in my own territory since. It's probably been a few years since leaving the woods last, although things never really change around here.

The Kokiri kids are still as young as they ever were, as fresh as dewdrops. Some of those little twerps tease me about my oldness... but I don't care. I can beat Mido in any little competition he poses when I visit. Except ones involving lots to agility and fitting in tiny spaces. I can't get into the training space anymore. He can. The little ageless bugger...

I pick up my gear, clipping my shield and the gilded sword onto my back, along with a bow and quiver. Even though I didn't want to keep anything from there, I decided the necessity of needing weapons in case was more important than my dumb paranoia. Although, I got rid of that one with the face... I didn't need another shield. And fine, it has scared the crap out of me a few times by mistake. Sue me.

And speaking of keeping things from that place, that stamp from that banker- who looks exactly like that beggar in Castle Town- hasn't washed off. Still. It's been freaking _years_ by now. It's so stupid, eventually I stopped trying. It doesn't matter. I'll always be branded by that place, forced to remember my time there. I see the stamp as a reminder of my circumstances now. It's almost worse than any scar I've gained, since while those are at least a faded pink or white, this is a loud, obnoxious blood red. It's practically morbid.

The hookshot and ocarina go back in my pouch, along with some loose change I had. Just in case. As I'm about to close up the pouch, my hand grazes the raggedy cap I used to wear incessantly.

A small grin makes it way onto my face,  
 _I bet she'd remember me if I wore this old thing..._

Why not? I pull out the old hat, faded and worn, but I can still see the vibrant emerald tone it once was. It goes on my head, and it feels so familiar.

Okay time to go.

I don't know why I get so nostalgic as I walk away from what I could call my home, although it's just a meager camp. That's permanent.

The morning light filters through the trees, and the forest comes to life as I make my way through the tunnels. Those bright little bugs glow amidst the green, and there's Skull Kids scampering about, along with the birds and squirrels and the occasional flash of a wolfos. Those dogs are seriously psychotic... and derpy as all get out. But they're fun to fight.

Even though I am very much a Hylian, and I would've figured it out on my own eventually, without that other Deku Tree telling me, I've never been completely lost in the Lost Woods. Honorary Kokiri or not, I know my way around. Everything is so familiar, unchanged by time, except for the addition of new plant life over the years. I can almost see myself running through the tunnels and undergrowth, one looking for his friend, the other a hero, looking to save the same girl. Two different times of my life, both gone.

It was a shock getting my memories back, even though it never happened all at once. They came out of order too, I had to ask Saria to tell me the story, although she wasn't much help. Only told me what she remembered, which wasn't much. Just a fraction of the whole story I appeared to be the main character in. So that means that means if my adventure was a story, hypothetically, it'd be named after me. Or at least that'd be the most logical.

The forest begins to diminish as I get closer to the Kokiri-inhabited section of the forest, closest to the outside world. Out of the last tunnel, the sounds of the waterfall along with various voices of my old neighbors, playing and laughing amongst their homes and the forest.

Some of them glance up at me, surprised to see me. I'm not a regular sight anymore. Partially cause I like my new loner lifestyle, but also because I feel so awkward around these kids who I grew up with- or at least I grew. It's such a weird feeling to know someone that never ages. Their eyes bore holes into me, staring at my now adultened body.

It's a mixed bag on their expressions. Some scorn, some envy, others in surprise. As far as I know, I'm the only Hylian, or non-Kokiri for that matter, who's been in their woods. I'm the only adult they've seen.

"Hey Link!" One of the kids yell, Fado.

Mido stops his playing, with a wooden sword that's as dull as his personality (kidding! He's a spicy lil' brat), staring up at me. It's a mix of scorn and indifference, along with something else. Envy? Ha, Mido envious of _me_? The boy without a fairy. I don't believe it.

I don't know where the two of us stand anymore, I'm honestly beyond him. He's still eleven or ten, I don't even know anymore, and I don't really have time for our old immature and petty arguments. You know what? We were both brats. I've matured, I don't really fit with the Kokiri anymore. And that's okay, I grew up and they didn't. Not their fault, I don't hold them against it. Most of them are still nice to me and sometimes will tell Saria to say hi to me when she visits.

I wave my hand in greeting to Fado, who goes back to scampering along with some of the other kids, her fairy straggling behind her.

As I make my way down the hill above the village, I see Saria coming over, Mido at her heels, arms crossed. Oh boy.

"Hey" I say, smiling down at her, she's probably my only friend now.

"Hey Link, what're you doing around here? Haven't seen you in awhile," she says, her eyes bright with curiosity.

"Gonna go return the ocarina to her."

"You mean Zelda?"

"Yeah. Her."

"Oh okay, well be safe!"

I nod, feeling Mido's eyes on me. What's his problem now?

Whatever, doesn't matter.

"Thanks, I'll try my best. See you later."

I watch the pair of them scamper off, feeling a pang of sadness. Maybe for my childhood, for a childhood that wasn't forcing me to grow up and carry burdens bigger than myself.

With a sigh, I turn away from the village, glancing over at my old house for a split second. It's still there, no long lived in. I'm kinda glad honestly, it just feels strange that another Kokiri would live in there, the place where my adventure began.

The playful shouts and laughter fade away as I make it to the bridge, at the exit of the forest, offering a final reprieve from the outside world.

I don't know why I'm so hesitant, I'm just dropping something off and getting the heck out of there.

With more effort than I thought I needed, I put on my best determined look and step out back into Hyrule.

———

I came to the immediate conclusion that nothing had changed, even years after I'd seen it last.

The grass is still as patchy as ever, ranging from tall, scrubby grass (it's really odd you can find rupee in there) to splotches of dirt with sparse tufts of grass.

The day's hot, and I begin regretting something as I mop the sweat from beneath my bangs. Giving Epona back to the ranch.

That had been a few years back, but I still miss her, not only for swift travel but for the companionship.

I'd decided it was the best decision, as much as I wanted to keep her. I'm still in a tight spot with food, sometimes it's scarce, leaving only leaves and edible bark and berries. If it's not enough for me, it's nothing for a horse.

I know I made the right decision in the end, she'd get properly cared for, and Malon had missed her anyway.

So I'd bear the heat and the developing cramp in my legs- seriously... I need to work out more- and finally cut all my ties to the princess.

As I walked the hill near the ranch, the walls of town began to gain more shape and distinction from the rest of the horizon. Something was off.

The braziers on either side of the bridge were out, and from what I could see, the bridge was destroyed. Torn, I imagine. Pieces of the drawbridge sat like a pile of driftwood in the moat.

Something was seriously wrong. There'd be no way the bridge was like that on a normal basis. And yes, while things may have changed since I was in Castle Town, I doubt the King has gone off his rocker too much. Or his daughter, at least I hope not.

Just thinking about Zelda, mixed with the dread already beginning to stew from the broken bridge, is enough to bother me more than a little bit. Okay, fine. A lot.

I'm finally up to the bridge and take a good look at it. Whatever brought it down... dang. There's splintery wood fibers on the edges of pieces, and they're all saturated with water. This seems like newly wrought destruction, at least within the last few days.

I grit my teeth and stumble my way into Castle Town, almost slipping on the remains of the bridge. An ominous feeling washes over me, but I throw all my fear in a corner, trying to be Mr.Hero again.

One glance at the town down the street is enough to make Mr.Hero shrink down and run away. Yikes. What happened here?

It just screams complete and utter chaos. Burned remains of buildings... and Farore knows what else... clutter the street, and there's dilapidated buildings, crumbling, with large holes in the brick. The worst is the blood splattered on just about _everything_. And the bodies. I try not to look, feeling the stench like a foggy cloud descending over town, hot and sickly.

In a second I'm back to when I'd awoken from the seven years, staring at Castle Town destroyed, just like it is now. It's eerie how similar the two look, one in the same.

I don't know why I keep moving forward, even as some of the blood makes me slip and almost fall, but I keep walking towards the castle. Maybe it's morbid curiosity, see if this happened there too. I wouldn't be surprised. Why would someone leave the castle untouched? I wouldn't. Unless the Royal Family did this... but I'd never believe that. They'd never massacre their own people.

But, deep down I'm scared out of my wits, but I keep on trekking through the rubble, hanging on for something. Just to see...

As I suspected, the Castle is just as destroyed as the rest of town. Go figure.

It's had the same treatment, the remnants of fire and explosions and yep... more blood.

_Guess I won't be able to give her ocarina back._

I don't know why that fact makes me sad. That's she's dead. It just seems impossible. I know she's mortal just like me, but now that she's gone...

Even though I no longer have a reason to stay at this wasteland, I keep staring at the castle I'd once snuck into. As I sweep the perimeter of the place, I catch movement from the corner of my vision.

I tense. There's a flash of red hair, the top end of a spear. A Gerudo.

Panic sweeps into me and I back up without thinking, running back towards the field and safety as fast as my legs can take me. I have to get out. I have to get out.

I feel the adrenaline shooting through my system, my eyes fixate on the field in the distance as it comes closer, ignoring everything else.

Almost there...

Something grabs me from behind, violently slamming me to a halt, a pathetic four feet away from safety.

"Guess we forgot one, huh?"

I turn my head, wincing as I see the Gerudo woman holding me by the scruff of my tunic, a crooked grin on her face with a gaze as sharp as daggers.

Glancing past her, I see another friend, a Lizalfos, its reptilian eyes on me. This is an absolute _picnic_.

"Oh for the love of Nayru..." I groan, beginning to sneak my hand up to the hilt of my sword.

This'll be fun.


	2. Her Story

_ ~ Zelda ~ _

_The dream always started out the same, with me shook awake by a storm._

_Lightning speared through the sky, igniting the clouds in glorious blue flames as the ground shook, violently trembled beneath me._

_In the dream, there's a panic I always feel... such an intense sense of panic that it's hard to believe this wasn't real._

_As the elements outside continue to increase, the rain slamming into the glass, lightning crashes into the Castle, right outside of my window._

_Even though it's raining, the flames bloom on the roof, catching the castle._

_In the distance I can hear his laugh as it booms as loud as the thunder, seeing his outline against the dark landscape far beyond me._

_Tall and imposing, he looks like the physical representation of power... which makes perfect sense. He was the bearer of that piece of Triforce... once._

_And now he's back to claim what he sees as his, my father's kingdom, Hyrule, that will one day be mine to govern._

_The thick clouds cover the sky, spreading over the land._

_At this point, no one will be safe from his tyranny, his goal of gaining the Triforce, along with ultimate power and control._

_The panicked feeling consumed me and my dream more, transforming it into a nightmare, the King is Thieves grew into a monster, violently spazzing as horns ripped out of his silhouette, and the laughs became animalistic, feral snarls._

_Around me the world flashed and burned, the edges of my dream appeared to burn, the smoke smell so real... the sharp and earthy tang along with the smoggy thickness. I choked on it as the fires burned into my eyes, the world screamed._

_Just before my dreams fades out to cracking stars and black, I see a flash of green, which from the moment I saw it I immediately associated with him, Link._

It had taken multiple deep breaths to slow my heart rate down, which felt like it was beating so hard I was afraid I'd crack a rib.

Continuing to compose myself, I still can clearly remember as I got ready that day, years ago, I remember the terror I felt at something that hadn't happened... I didn't know when it would happen.

Like my other dream I had, I knew this one was another vision of the future, it felt so real... there was no way it was just a figment of my imagination. My first prophetic dream had felt the same, the foreboding tone it carried had felt so much larger and tangible than just a flimsy dream.

As before, I went to tell Impa first, since she seemed to be the only one to believe me, besides him of course. But he'd been gone, and I didn't know where he was now.

———

_years ago..._

"Father, I need to speak with you immediately... this is a matter of deep concern to me," I say as I come into my father's study with Impa behind me, watching his conversation lull with the General of the Hylian Army, Corzan Dohean.

My father sighs, and I wince visibly, feeling his irritation at me.

"What is it Zelda?"

"I've had another vision father... and I'm worried, it shows the castle burning and Ganondorf at the head of it all..."

I was about to say more but I stop, seeing General Dohean's eyes flicker onto my face, clear exasperation for me on his face. I hush up, biting my lip.

It's silent now, my father staring down at his wooden desk and then back at me, I can feel their eyes on me, even as I glance down to my palms, which are becoming slippery from my nervous sweat.

I'm anticipating my father's reaction, will he even believe me this time?

Last time he hadn't, and only when Link came to warn me of the future did he listen, with Impa vouching for us both.

If he denies it again, he's not only leaving our country to be consumed by Ganondorf's regime, which I have no doubt will be very bloody, along with his own certain death. Condemning all the citizens of Hyrule to a reign of terror. One that I am trying to warn him about! It's so frustrating!

While I want to continue my persuasion, I hold my tongue, knowing that it will only displease him more. Don't dawdle, don't beg. Be succinct in your words. Short and sweet was my manifesto as a child, drilled into my heads by tutors.

I begin to wonder if he's just going to tell me to go and leave him to his meeting with General Dohean, but to my utter surprise he doesn't.

"... I'll keep that in mind Zelda, General Dohean and I were just discussing the Gerud-"

He's cut off by an icy stare from Dohean, but I'm almost too surprised by my father to be annoyed about it. General Dohean always loves to keep the news of the outside world, especially the growing tension at the border with the Gerudos, from me.

"Your father and I have business to return to, Princess, so your nursemaid and yourself should find something else to do." He says in his gruff voice.

I nod, "Yes sir, but I just want to know you'll keep it in mind."

"You have nothing to worry about young Zelda... the Hylian army is the most prestigious in all the land, we were responsible for ending the Hyrulian Civil War under the King's command after all. This pesky border control business is nothing to concern yourself with, and there's a very good chance your dreams are not a premonition and just your folly imagination playing tricks on you."

_We'll see about that when you're dead in the invasion, Mister._ I snap at him inside my head, my annoyance like an itch.

I just decide to play the polite princess, so I can leave without repercussions.

"You might be right about that Sir Dohean, my nerves are certainly something to be considered as to the cause of my dreams. Thank you for giving me your time Father, you too General Dohean, goodbye and have a nice meeting."

Okay... my farewell might've been a _tad_ bit sweet, on the verge of looming very fake, but I was already walking out the door to correct myself.

I hear Impa let out the small laugh she'd been holding in, "I can't believe you actually said that to Dohean... oh, the look on his face was priceless..."

I'd never seen Impa laugh before and that fact made me laugh too, although I soon composed myself.

"I can't believe he said that though..." I frown, "my father had listened to me before he said anything."

"I'm sure it will be okay, why don't we get you some breakfast?"

"Okay."

———

_I see the lightning again, the world shaking with much more intensity than I remember the first time I had this dream._

_The lightning slices through my vision, turning everything into shards, and the pain... it's excruciatingly real._

_I see Ganondorf in the distance again, the laughter taking over all the other sound, making my ears buzz._

_The fire is more putrid than ever, the smoke slamming into my lungs, erupting me into a coughing fit._

_The fire burns again, although this time it feels like explosions, combusting and destroying everything._

_Just before I know I'll wake up, I see the flash of green again... and for the first time, I see a face. His face._

_In the few seconds I have, I stare into his sharp blue eyes, taking it in as my dream fades away._

I snap awake, the chaotic sounds from my dream follow me into my waking, shouts and screams ringing around me.

I feel someone shaking at me, and I see Impa over my bed, a calm expression on, even though underneath I can see the traces of panic. Two guards stand behind her, impatient and anxious as all get out.

Something is very wrong here. And then everything makes sense. It's here. My dream.

_Oh sweet Hylia... it's here already..._

After years of nothing... everyone who knew of my dream had begun to disregard my concerns. But I always kept waiting for it. From eavesdropping, I concluded that the border disputes with the Gerudo were only getting worse... soon the strained relations would snap, finally boil over into the only possible conclusion: war.

I get out of bed immediately, trying to remain as calm as Impa, but the paranoia has seemed to follow me to reality as well, because I am a mess of nerves.

Without much time to think, and a half-asleep brain anyway, I don't think to grab anything other than my cloak and slip on some shoes.

The guards lead us out into the hallway, and I struggle to keep apace with them. Impa helps drag me along, and we hurry as fast as we can, the hallways becoming blurs of nothingness.

The chaos does consume me, I'm afraid for all of us, for our kingdom, and the fact that after so long, after rumors of my craziness... it still happened.

The explosions begin to sound farther away, but they still jolt me.

"Impa..." It's hard to talk while running, but I manage,"are we going to the..?"

"Yes." Impa replies.

The Sheikah Tunnels then.

Impa's told me all about them, and I can even remember them in traces of the long forgotten memories during my time as Sheik. They were made long ago, back when the Sheikah population was plentiful, not on the verge of extinction. Now they're mostly decrepit and unused, but I do believe it's a safe bet it'll be a good escape route. No one goes down there, much less knows about it.

As we near the entrance to the tunnels from the castle, cutting downstairs through the servant passages, the sounds of combat and struggle much louder, clashing metal, the crackling of fire, the despaired voices of the castle staff... no doubt felled mercilessly by Ganondorf's minions.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and I jump.

"Just me, c'mon, we need to go now."

I nod and follow Impa into the tunnels, which are pitch black, all the torches have long since gone out.

But we're out, which is what matters, that and to keep moving to somewhere safe.

The brisk pace we'd been going drops down a few levels, and I can feel my heart beating violently in my chest, aching as I take deep breaths.

As my adrenaline begins to ebb, a heavy weight overtakes my limbs, exhaustion and grief. But also immense relief that I've escaped... along with Impa... and...

I stop.

The three figures ahead keep walking, not noticing I've stopped in the total darkness. I can feel tears well in my eyes... I can't cry, not now.

"My father. We've left him. General Dohean too. And the others, we've left them all to Ganondorf's dogs."

My voice is slipping and sliding to avoid the sobs that build in my throat, tears roll down my face.

"We have to go back for them... we need them! We can't let Ganondorf kill them!" I raise my voice, the shouts echo down the tunnel- that was probably a bad idea.

"We can't." Impa snaps at me.

"Well _I_ will!" I retort, shocked that I just talked back to Impa.

Why did I do that?! She's going to kill me! (Maybe... or just make my life a whole lot worse- I'm leaning towards the latter.)

My hand is seized- by Impa I assume- as she begins dragging me behind her further down the tunnel.

Silence prevails for awhile, the only sound being the soldiers' boots and their clanking armor.

"Sorry." I mumble, head down cast, even though I can't meet Impa's gaze anyway, probably just a habit.

"Uh huh. Well, almost there."

Classic Impa. She'll probably roast me on my behavior later, because knowing her... even as the castle is being practically burnt down she'll still mention it later.

———

And mention it later she does.

The moment we're all out of the tunnel, right near the entrance to Castle Town, she turns to me so fast I stumble back.

"What you did in there missy.... I don't care diddly squat if you're the princess, when I say no, you listen."

The guards behind me look scared, absolutely terrified. They've probably never seen this side of her before, usually only reserved for me... and I'm _still_ scared.

"Do you hear me?"

"...yes."

"Louder."

I deadpan at her. We're on the run for Din's sake... we don't have time for this!

"Fine. Yes ma'am, Impa the Great, my dearest- and only nursemaid..." I raise an eyebrow, an annoyed scowl on my face, "You happy now?"

She walks past me, and I turn around to see the drawbridge, completely mutilated. It's bent and shattered and broken beyond repair, lying useless in the most.

"Wow" is my response.

Impa picks her way over the rubble into Castle Town, motioning for the soldiers to follow her.

Before I can ask what I should do she addresses me, "Run over the the ranch for me, let me know they'll need to clear out the field."

I nod and began to hurry my way south of the castle, towards the ranch in the distance, letting myself breathe in and compose myself... this'll be a long night.

———

Impa returns with many of our army along with civilians a few hours later.

I was sitting in the Lon Lon's kitchen, one step away from a panic attack when Malon rushes into the kitchen, a cautionary smile, but still a smile nonetheless on her face, her fiery red bangs falling into her face.

"They're back," she says, holding open the door for me.

I rush out, leaving the tea Malon had made for me on the kitchen table.

And there they are, most battered and beaten, but alive.

I can't help but smile, my eyes meeting Impa's crimson ones.

I hear a man clear his throat and watch General Corzan Dohean make his way to the front of the crowd, a bad cut on his forehead, leaking down his face.

"I've already dispatched soldiers to Kakariko to warn them, along as help to reinforce the protection there, Princess."

"Did you send mes-"

He cuts me off, "I have already send messengers to the Goron and Zora tribes, summoning them for a war consul. There was no need to send word to the Kokiri, so I didn't."

"Good," he's done everything right, but still... the way he talks to me like I'm an indignant child annoys me, I'm an adult woman and heir to the throne and yet he still treats me like a naïve little girl. But it's best not to tickle the tiger so to speak, poke the bear, so I leave him with that, leave him no satisfaction for grinding my gears. Not yet anyway.

But I still have a few more things to discuss with the General, unfortunately. Around me, the others have begun to move out into the field, already setting up a camp of sorts. Impa stays by me, Dohean hasn't moved either.

"My father?" I ask, biting my tongue as I wait for his response.

"Dead." That one word was delivered so bluntly, so sharp, I feel a stab in my heart. It's shock.

He can't just be gone... without a ruler on the throne who will lead everyone? Will it be me? Am I going to become the role I've prepared my whole life for?

"Anything else notable?" I ask, equally emotionless.

"Not much. The opposing army did compose of Gerudo and monsters... but nothing out of the ordinary beyond that."

"Okay... well, he came here for a reason. What is that reason?"

I'm mainly thinking to myself, mumbling about what I know of Ganondorf and his motives.

The castle was targeted for a reason... my father was killed for a reason...

What has he always wanted? Power, I knew that... the Triforce, his ultimate goal.

Then how would he go about achieving this goal?

The answer isn't hard to procure, it's happened before.

He needs a few simple things, the Master Sword needs to be pulled from its pedestal, and to do that the Door of Time must be opened... so the three spiritual stones will be needed along with...

"The ocarina."

I repeat it again. My eyes widening at such an obvious revelation.

He'd need the Song of Time of course too... but it'd never work with another ocarina.

"Where is it?" I ask slowly, letting myself pause on each word, scouring my brain... trying to remember...

"Is it in the castle?" Dohean suggests.

I shake my head, "No... wouldn't I have taken it with me then?"

Then it hits me, a grin spreading onto my face.

"General Dohean, send out some soldiers to track down someone. If I'm not mistaken, he'll still have the ocarina in his possession. Bring him to me."

He bows, acknowledging my request, "Yes princess, I will send them out at daybreak."

"Good."

Dohean leaves and Impa comes over to me, a caring smile on her face and sad red eyes.

Wait a minute... this face looks familiar.

"What's up?" I ask casually, putting a hand on a hip.

"I've got to go Zel," She says. (oh great... she's calling me that cursed nickname... something is up)

"Where?"

"To Kakariko... I know you'll be safe here, and I want to help protect them, my people. It's my responsibility."

"Well, be safe I guess." I mutter, upset that I won't have Impa with me, to help me make my voice heard as we begin planning for war. But she has her duty, as the defender of Kakariko, I don't want to hold her back. I'll stand my ground.

"You too Zelda," her smile is small, and all too soon she is gone. Loneliness overtakes me, and I return to the house.

I sit there for a long time, thinking of those I've lost. My father from life, Impa from my side, and Link, who has been gone for many years already. Lost to me.

_I miss you._


	3. Out of Practice

I carefully maneuver the hilt further out of the sheath, trying to act nonchalant, waiting for my time to move, the Gerudo's hand still wrenched in my tunic's scruff.

As I wedge it up slowly, sweat rolling down my back, I try to hurry it up. I know I look so pathetically obvious, it's not even funny, but she hasn't stopped me yet, so I keep sliding it out. When it's almost free, I violently yank away from her, spinning on my heel to face the Gerudo and the Lizalfos- almost forgot about that last one. I pull the sword out, bringing it in front of me.

"Not going down without a fight, hmm? I like your fight kid." The woman says with a predatory grin.

Another voice from another time has said something like that to me once, _hey kid, I like your attitude_. Ganondorf. Hmm, must run in their family... or uhh... wait. Their tribe? Oh yeah- who cares?

With two rings of metal on metal, she's unleashed her own weapons, two gleaming scimitars covered in Gerudo script.

I've got mine too, an outgrown, awkward, argyle sword. The perfect weapon! (Please note the sarcasm...)

Fast and agile, she pushes off of The pavement, flying at me with her blades.

I manage to evade her, clumsily and narrowly missing the blades by a few mere inches. The other Link is rolling in his grave.

She comes at me with a flurry of attacks, the power at which she commands her blades seems uncanny to me. I'm barely able to fend her off, feeling the swords slice into me a few times, sharp and quick.

I've gotta end this battle quick and then get the holy Hylia outta here, before I do something stupid like die.

I try to land a few attacks... but she's so quick that I'm worried to let my guard down for long. Which gives me no time to fight back.

It really is a shame... after getting out of NL, I've mostly retired my blade to yard work, or no work at all. Point is, I'm severely out of practice, and now it'll probably lead to my death.

Maybe I should take down the Lizalfos first... they're clearly not as competent warriors as the Gerudos, in fact... I bet Mido could do better than them. And that's saying a lot. Sure they may look intimidating, but I remember being able to destroy those buggers without any effort at all.

I divert my attention from the Gerudo woman, side hopping wide to avoid the scimitars, which are already covered in a bit of my blood. That's embarrassing.

The Lizalfos screams into alertness, poising it's sword out to me, forked tongue flicking out of its mouth.

It's time to make quick work on this guy so I can get back to a real challenge. The reptilian lunges at me, it's scream piercing my ears. I hop to the side and stab my blade into its soft middle, making a gross squelching sound. Purple blood coats my sword when I pull it out, and the Lizalfos screams again... geez, is that the only noise these things can make?

I easily dodge again, bringing my sword as hard as I can down on the back of its exposed neck. The blood sprays up into my face, and I can hear something in its neck pop and crack and I somehow manage to sever its head with this butter knife of a sword.

"Wow... good job. Glad to you know you can fight a Lizalfos. Truly a warrior," I hear a sarcastic retort behind me, feeling my ears turn red with annoyance.

"So glad I could entertain," I say with equal snark.

This must be _so_ fun for her, I turn back to the Gerudo, smugly smiling at me with her arms crossed.

"Ready to fight a real warrior now?" She asks cockily.

"If you're up for it, girly."

Her amber eyes flash with anger, and she charges at me.

_Bad idea!_

Great. Now she's mad. Good job me!

I stumble away from her, one misstep away from tripping and falling on my butt.

"I'm- sorry... you're- ama-zing," I attempt to flatter her while trying not to, you know, get my neck slit or something.

"Mhmm, tell that to my sword, won't you _boy_?"

Yeah... I deserve that.

She's a whole lot better than me, and it's not surprising or anything. The Gerudo, from what I've seen, have a very strict training regimen. I bet they come out of the womb fighting, because they look like they've been doing this for their whole lives. Horseback archery, dual wielding, they're pretty talented gals. Fine, they're very talented. And I'm not even mentioning the pirate variant in NL, which are just as feisty... but sea bound now. So you can die on land or in the sea at the hands of a Gerudo!

But I've beaten some before, that one time the other Link snuck into their fortress, and somehow _he_ managed. And he's me... so I should be able to beat this fiery Gerudo too.

I can feel the fervor in my step grow as I warm back up to the battle, trying to get down the pattern of her moves, examine the enemy like I once did. Quite a bit harder with Navi though, because as annoying as that bug was sometimes, she had her uses.

Every time I try to land a hit on her front, she crosses her blades, forming an X.

I'm beginning to get tired, the late morning sun mixed with humidity plasters to my bangs to my forehead.

I guess I need to step it up a notch, screw getting hurt. I need to up the offense, or else I'll be here all day.

I run at her, letting her blades slash into me as I stab my sword into the meaty part of her shoulder.

She staggers back, surprised.

"You're gonna regret that."

She returns with full force, the blood streaming down her arm, which she ignores. My side erupts into pain, as her blade spears into my side, my tunic soaks with blood, wet and throbbing.

I stagger back, narrowing my eyes at her. I press my right hand onto my wound, which only makes it hurt more. I feel the blood gushing past my fingers. Nausea hits me and I buckle over, feeling like I'm gonna retch.

Something hard slams into my head, and I collapse. I tilt my face as I fall, and my cheek hits the ground, slicing it open.

I lay there, the world pitching around me as I try to breathe. It's so hard to breathe... with the bile rising in my throat and my throbbing head... but I have to.

A kick to my stomach causes me to retch, the acid burns my throat. Gross.

She keeps kicking me, and I just lie there and take it, feeling myself slipping into unconsciousness.

_You can't. Get up loser._

My right hand grips the pavement, and I pick myself off from the ground, a fresh wave of dizziness threatens to send me back to the ground, covered in blood and puke.

"Just get outta here boy, or I'll kill you."

The words come like a slap to the face. I can barely focus on anything and I'm so confused. Why is she letting me go? Why?

I open my mouth to speak but she stares me down, so I end up gaping like Jabu-Jabu while she flashes her scimitars.

"Scram."

I comply to her order, turning away from the destruction and the Gerudo woman. A headache is pounding on my skull and I can hear my heart hammering in my ears, scared that she'll change her mind and come after me. That's all I can think about as I escape, not running... but stumbling and tripping my way through the remaining rubble and then over the mush of wood, my legs shaking pathetically the whole while.

I guess I'd better go home. That's all that's on my mind now. 

The day seems so much brighter and hotter than it is, but I keep trekking. I manage to shove the sword back onto my back, both hands on my wound, squeezing and knotting my fingers in the drenched fabric.

I've got to hang on... I stare out at the horizon as I move, taking in sharp breaths. I bet I'm as slow as King Zora. Now I _really_ wish I had Epona.

I hate to keep complaining... but it's such an excruciating painful (and pathetic) I guess I can't help myself. So I'm going to continue.

It hurts... it hurts so bad. The blood isn't stopping, I rip off my stupid hat and hold it to the wound without glancing down. I don't want to see how bad it is, yet at least. I'll have to examine it later at home, but that'll be different. I'll feel safe and be under the nice cover of trees. Won't be staggering through a goddess-forsaken field like a dying old man or something. I don't know. I sure feel like one.

I'm too scared to stop, and scared to go too fast, for the fear of collapsing, so I keep it to this nice stagger that really balances things out. (Okay... it sucks) It feels like forever but I'm not even past the ranch yet. I think it's only been several minutes, but it feels like a lifetime. It doesn't help that I keep having to stop so I can throw up some more every few steps.

And I'm reminded of my injury every time I feel the blood come up too, (gross I know, this is my last complaint I swear) so I know that Gerudo woman hit something vital. It feels like I've been beaten up by some really tough guy, or hit with the megaton hammer a few times or something. Not fun.

And it's probably at least partly my fault, because of how out of practice I am... and fine, I was stupidly careless and let myself get more injured than I could've... but I wanted to make it quick, knowing that cutting the corners meant consequences. (Sometimes, at least)

The process of walking continues a few more times: step, step, step, puke, and so on.

I hear a shout ahead of me and to my right, although it isn't as loud as it should be. The sun feels blindingly hot and I squint towards the direction of the ranch, feeling woozy. Two figures are running towards me, yelling something about a princess and an ocarina.

Zelda! The ocarina! Oh no... no no no. This cannot be happening. Can not.

"Sorry lads, but I'm trying to get back to the forest, just taking a nice stroll," I manage to slur out, my voice sounding too shaky to fake confidence.

"Hahaha you're quite funny, the princess didn't tell us that. Uh... don't believe that story though, you look like you tripped down Death Mountain and stabbed yourself on a rock or something."

The other one laughs at his companion's comment, and I can feel their arms pulling me up, supporting me. I try to struggle out of their grasp, but they won't let me.

"I'm fine." I spit out with too much aggression, "Just get your hands off me and leave me alone."

"No can do, princess' orders."

"And, for the record... you are definitely not fine!" The other one pipes up.

I submit to them, too worn out to fight anymore. They're almost as stubborn as I remember Darunia was, although I haven't met him in this time, so maybe it's worse than I thought. Well, guess I'll never know because someone thought it'd be fun to erase it from the books. The same person I'm meeting now! What a coincidence!

It's so sad that them pulling me is at least four times faster than I was going, I stare forlornly at the entrance to Lon Lon Ranch, which is growing closer by the second. I don't know what I'm going to do when I see her again. I don't want to see her again. I just want to get back to my tree! Is that too much for a guy to ask for?

The camp is bustling with people, many of whom I can see are congregated in the field. That seems to only worsen my pounding headache.

I just want to get in, give her whatever she wants, and get out. It's so simple.

The guards, instead of taking me towards the crowd of soldiers and civilians alike, take me into Malon's house, which is a lot more quiet than outside, thankfully.

The guards help me into the house and they make me awkwardly stand in the living room, probably don't want me getting my blood all over the sofa.

One of them leaves me, going to bring _her_ , I presume. The other stays with me, doing his best to avoid eye contact and glance the other way. Geez... I don't look that bad.

The sound of boots clacking on the hardwood floor bring me to alertness and I find myself face to face with the very person I wanted to avoid for the rest of forever.

Zelda. Yay.

She still looks as stuck-up as ever, her blue eyes check me up and down with a cool indifference, masking her most utter disgust, I bet. Her hair isn't as nice as it usually looks though, and I'm not being rude. She's wearing it in a low ponytail that is loose and her bangs (??! Guess that's new?) are falling into her eyes. Real attractive.

Then she breaks out into a smile, flinging herself towards me and throwing her arms around my neck, head against my chest.

"Is it actually you?" She asks quietly into my tunic. I don't answer, looking down at her with wide eyes.

"... I've missed you."

And I still don't respond, seemingly I've entered a catatonic state of shock. I do, however, wince as she collides right into my gash from earlier, which makes it hurt all over again. She's so close to me... it's so awkward. I can feel her heart hammering against me and smell the fresh scent of pine. (Um... pretend I didn't notice that)

She pulls her head away from me, looking up at me, her smile disintegrating into a look of concern.

"What's wrong?" She asks in barely a whisper.

I bite my lip, unsure what to say to this princess. Everything about her feels so alien, and yet familiar at the same time. And I'm supposed to be done with her, there's no excuse for what she did.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me princess."

Something in her eyes clouds over and she pulls away from me, her eyes land on my bloodied tunic then down to her own shirt, also stained with my blood.

I stare back at her, so much emotion inside, fighting for dominance. Anger, obvious anger, but also hurt, and something else I can't put my finger on. I'm at a loss for words, so close to apologizing but not letting myself. Other than getting blood on her outfit, which could've been avoided, I have nothing to apologize for.

The pain is still there, and when I feel my vision fading again, I let it take me. Right in front of her, Zelda. Sometimes I did something similar in NL, just letting the wave of destruction take me away. I'd still be back three days before it anyway, so it didn't matter to me. To be honest, nothing mattered there, those three days consumed me.

I hear her scream as everything turns black. Falling back into nothing.


	4. Forget me not

The moment I wake I make the startling realization that I have no idea where I am.

I'm in a bed... which is already a bad sign since I don't have one anymore.

The light that's coming in is stark, too bright for me, sparking a headache.

"Oh hey, you're finally awake."

I stiffen at the voice, disoriented and dazed beyond belief. It has that hint of familiarity... and then I remember.

Zelda is sitting on a chair by the bed, prim and proper and staring right at me. Great.

I let my gaze drop down, noticing the bandages wrapped around my middle, my tunic gone. I brush one hand to my cheek, remembering how I cut it, I feel the stiff stitches poking out of my otherwise smooth face. The headache is still coming, awakening when I did, apparently.

I still haven't answered Zelda, and I don't know what to say to her. Why is it so hard? I fiddle with my hands, staring down at the bank stamp, still as visible as ever. I scratch at it and narrow my eyes. Stupid stamp.

I hear her sigh, hearing the sadness in her voice, which annoys me. What is _she_ expecting me to be like? I don't know what's going on in that head of hers... but she clearly had some nice- and trippy- fantasy about my return, as the charming (I mean... I still think I am) and heroic me, who would pledge to her service and once again lay down his life for her plans.

Instead she got a me who's had the snot beaten out of him, and who isn't completely smitten for her. Or even slightly interested. Or interested at all... for that matter. She probably expected me to be just like that other Link, the one she sent back. Didn't expect me to not want anything to do with her, I presume.

"And hello to you too, princess," I turn my head back to her and reply with an above average dose of snark, my voice rough and quiet from misuse- just how long was I out of it?- but still has that little cutting edge to it.

Her eyes narrow at me, turning into a glare. I don't know why she apparently hates me calling her princess so much, it is her title after all. Sure, I may not be the most respectful... but she's in no position to argue with me.

"So, how have you been _fairy boy_?" She begins, her voice as cold as that mountain in NL, (snowhead... I think? I'm trying to forget) and dang, I never knew Zelda could slam smack right back at me- the king, "You're certainly a lot different than the last time I saw you."

"Mhmm... cool, I get that a lot. I've been just fine."

One of her thin blonde eyebrows quirks upward, still a frown on her face, questioning me.

"Just fine. Geez, you act so entitled... I'm fine. Peachy keen. Whatever word you wanna use."

She doesn't look convinced.

"I'm _fine_." I grit my teeth.

"All right, fine." She crosses her arms, annoyed, but still... she doesn't leave.

"And how've you been princess? Hope it's been all sunshine and lollipops for the dear princess." Her eyes flash predatorily at me, like the Gerudo, and I begin to get a little bit scared.

"Oh, it's been all peachy keen, especially when the Gerudos invaded the castle. I've been fine, well, heck, even good. So glad to know we're both happy campers."

I hold back the urge to gape at her. When'd she get so snarky? Sheesh... everyone's a comedian these days.

"Hmm, touché princess."

She scoffs at me, her eyes challenging for me to continue, see what she can do. I mean, so far she's a lot more uhhh feisty than I remember her. In my memories she seemed like a prim and proper princess, with a bit of a stubborn streak, liked to think she was smart, and maybe was more than a little bit manipulative. And she apparently hadn't known what love was, or still doesn't.

Because, as much as I hate to admit it, and honestly I doubt this was the case but... that other Link had loved her. But she didn't seem to wrap that around her head of hers, and now I'm here, having a smack talk with the princess at the ranch. Cute how things can change... but I doubt I'd ever loved her, I definitely wouldn't now. I don't want love, I want my solitude back. It was working. Everything was peachy keen! Even if she doesn't believe me! She doesn't know me!

"Pausing this lovely conversation we're having, I actually need something of mine I'd given to you, do you still remember that day?"

I do, actually. Even though it was several years ago, I don't remember the exact number, I still can see it in my mind with a great deal of clarity, still as fresh in my memory as the day it happened. I dunno why it had to be this memory... it could've been another one, like that one time I actually managed to beat up Mido. That, was a good day. He got the snot beaten out of him, and he cried like a baby. Hahah.

But no, I didn't have that victory to revel in for the rest of my days, forced to remember instead the beginning of my journey to NL, which had begun as a pleasant and uneventful search for Navi. Dunno why I wanted to search for her, if I'd have known where I was gonna end up, I never would've left. I went to Zelda, I guess to tell her goodbye (I hadn't remembered much about... well anything, so we were kinda maybe sorta friends back in the day... yeah, crazy, I know) and she'd given me the ocarina. Ever since then, I'd always thought of it as weird for her to do that. I was just some kid, and yet she let me take the Royal Family's prized and sacred ocarina.

I was probably just a good person to entrust it with, someone no one knew so that she could rest easy with the knowledge that it was safe with me. Oh sweet merciful Din... this princess. She's a piece of work.

"Oh, you want that ocarina right?" I let the sarcasm drop, staring back at her with an equally neutral expression.

"Yeah. Er... you do still have it right?"

Is that what she takes me for? A forgetful lunatic who's just leaving stuff around all willy nilly?

I scoff at her, " _Of course_ I still have it." My voice becomes aggressive again.

"Okay, give it to me then."

"Gladly... I've been waiting to get rid of that cursed thing for years." I can feel my enthusiasm as I bring a hand to my hip, but of course, my pouch isn't there. What an idiot.

"Problem, fairy boy?"

"Yeah, you or the soldiers or whoever took my pouch."

"Oh, well... I think it's downstairs. I'll just be a second." Her face turns pink, she's probably embarrassed. Or maybe I've flustered her so much she's beginning to break. Hilarious.

She gets up fast from her chair and hurries from the room, I can hear her shoes as they clomp down the stairs.

Then silence.

And then she's clomping on back up and into the room, my belt in her hands.

She tosses it to me, which hits me right on my bandages. I wince and suck in a breath, glaring at her.

"You could've... I don't know, _handed_ it to me?!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" She says, hands raised in an attempt to calm me down, but I can hear her struggling not to laugh at me.

Rolling my eyes, I open the pouch and reach a hand in, fishing around for the ocarina's glossy surface.

After an awkward moment that last several seconds of me blindly searching, I finally secure my hand around it and get it out, pulling the cinch closed.

"Here," I hand it over, she holds it to her chest, rubbing her hands over the holes.

"Thanks... but-"

"But what?"

She glances down at the ocarina, which she places on her lap, another flustered blush gracing her face.

"Can you... keep it on you for the time being?" She stares at me with her big, beautiful (ahh I mean... averagely attractive) eyes, and I groan in annoyance in my head.

I blanch at her, "Are you _kidding_ me?! I've been waiting years to get rid of that thing!"

"Well too bad."

Before I can do anything, she grabs the belt from the bed and slips the ocarina back in my bag, cinching it shut.

She smiles smugly at me. I glare again.

Zelda gets up, and moves to the door, pausing when she gets there.

"What?" I finally ask.

"C'mon, I think you're healed up enough for me to show you around."

"... can I opt out? Besides, I'm not sticking around for much longer... I have a life outside of saving a certain princess ya know."

"What life? I've heard nothing from you for around ten or eleven years... not even from others. I bet it isn't exactly enthralling."

"Yeah, but, I want to go back to my life. I don't care if it's not chic and posh and heroic and worth your royal attention, it's my life and you can't hold me from it."

I cross my arms over my chest, making sure to avoid my wound.

"Yeah, yeah... well technically, I'm your Queen now, so come along fairy boy. That's an order."

"And then can I leave?"

"Hmm... I'll have to think on it. Now come on, for Din's sake! I've got important business to attend to, you know... you should be thanking me for this tour, wasting valuable time on _you_ of all people is certainly a liability when we're at war... but I'll make sacrifices."

Her whole little speech is stupid, I never asked for this!

"Yeah, but I just want to go home. I never asked for you to waste your time!" I yell, still stubbornly in bed.

"I didn't hear that, now come on- or else."

I don't know what "or else" means, but I definitely ain't finding out. This girl is way more unpredictable than I remember! Sheesh, all she did in the other timeline was play ninja. I miss that Zelda. I practically jump out of the bed, immediately wishing I hadn't. I'm still too injured to really move like a normal person, I end up hunched over and clutching my middle, biting my lip against the tide of painful gasps, she can't know how pathetic I am!

I stand there for a few minutes, forgetting where I am. I'm back in NL, why do I always come back to there? Why does it always come creeping back?

_I can still remember my time there, even after I've spent years trying to forget._

_The memories still catch me unaware, and I don't know how to make them stop. They come alive in my dreams. Why? Why can't they just leave me alone?_

_This time my brain (a real idiot) shows me Ikana, the literal land of the dead, and the final chapter in my accursed journey._

_The place reeks of death, plagued by Gibdos and those no good Garo ninjas._

_My mind takes me back to Stone Tower. The place where the world turns upside down. Again, also literal._

_This time I'm met by Gomess, the grim reaper-esque creature surrounded by a horde of bats._

_It's so surreal, I swear I can hear Tatl yelling at me again, the grim determination but also the immense fear and pressure of potential failure crushing me._

_The room turns blood red, darker and darker as the bats surround me, and I scream._

"Link! Please... snap out of it!"

I open my eyes, seeing Zelda staring down at me, eyes wide with concern.

I begin to sit up awkwardly, my whole body aching. What happened? Did I pass out again in front of Zelda?

"Link, tell me what happened. What was that?" Her voice shakes, and so does her body. She's scared.

I can feel my face becoming hot, but I feel pale and sick. Did this just get me a fever?

I stare at her, my mouth open. I don't want to tell her what I saw. As much as I don't care for the princess, I'd still spare her my story.

"I'm fine." They sound so forced, even I know that's a lie.

Zelda keeps staring at me, not even making some sarcastic quip or raising an eyebrow.

"I know something's wrong, you can tell me. It's just... " Zelda shakes her head, "you just stood there, lost in thought, unresponsive, then you screamed and collapsed. "

She screws up her lip, which is trembling with oncoming tears, she furiously wipes them away.

"Just tell me what that was." She snaps.

"It really is nothing, princess. At least I've never had anything happen like that to me before. Maybe it's just a symptom of my illness?"

She sighs, and I bet she can tell I'm lying again, but to my immense relief, she doesn't mention anything.

Zelda picks herself up from the ground, reaching down a hand to me, which surprises me. Why is she trying to help me up? I really am hopeless.

Her hand is a lot smaller than mine, and soft too... I have calluses all over mine, but the strength by which she pulls me up takes me by surprise. I know she's not weak, but dang... I'm like a head taller than her.

"C'mon, I'll still take you on a tour, if you want," Zelda sighs again (she does this a lot around me, I've noticed) "but I understand if you want to go back and lie down."

She won't look me in the eye, instead staring out into the Lon Lon's hallway through the open door.

Oh what the heck... I'll let her take me on her little tour. I don't want to be alone right now anyway... I need a distraction.

I squeeze her hand to make her look at me, a small smile on my face. I wink at her. "Let's get out of here."

———

Some of the chaos that I remember from my arrival here has been diminished, probably since everyone has fallen into some sort of routine, ironing out the chaos and unpredictability.

There's been a nice, and seemingly orderly camp ground of sorts constructed in the large field.

Zelda takes me around, and I see people staring at me. Oh crap... I forgot to put a shirt on. I think Zelda purposely let me forget to throw a shirt on. That prissy princess. She pretends not to notice at least, which I am at least somewhat grateful for. But overall I don't make the best first impression. I'm just reinforcing my stereotype of a socially-awkward loner who lives out in the sticks and is a total hick, and now I'm the local injured person too. Yay.

As Zelda is taking me back to my room, deciding I've had far more than enough humiliation today, I hear a commotion from near the stables. Zelda and I exchange glances, simultaneously heading in the direction of the arguing voices and whinnies of a horse.

"Careful with her! If she's already kicked y'all off, she ain't lettin' you on again!" A girl with fiery red hair cautions, arms crossed as she leans against the stable wall, watching.

It's Malon. The resident horse expert- and enthusiast.

A small group of soldiers are trying to get into a very upset horse, which keeps throwing them off, skittish and upset. She's gonna kick them if they're not careful. I know how headstrong that mare can be, it's Epona.

With a grin on my face, I whistle the three note tune Malon had taught me. I see the horse settle down, her dark blue eyes meeting mine.

I try to say her name but nothing comes out. She trots over to me, neighing happily.

"Link!" Malon comes over, smiling.

"Hey, I didn't know you missed me too, I just thought Epona did."

She laughs, "She definitely missed you, she likes you better than me... I'm jealous," Malon elbows me softly, since I certainly look weak right now.

I stroke Epona's face, feeling her relax.

The guards have since gotten up from the ground, smeared with dirt and grass. They're glaring at Malon.

One grins meanly, "A certain someone didn't tell us we could've just sang a song for the flank steak."

Malon's face turns tomato red, the anger expressed on her face is kinda awesomely terrifying. If looks could kill...

"Leave her alone." I say, knowing they're not going to listen or care.

"Go report back to the General, soldiers," says a voice from behind me, Zelda.

They heed her order, walking away.

If today has taught me anything... it's that Zelda is unpredictable. How can she be so nice and yet so snarky? I don't understand. If she could care less about me then why was so worried when I blanked out. I don't get her.

One thing's for sure though, I need to get out of here quick. Zelda and I are going to destroy each other if the smack talk continues, she's so insufferable- why doesn't she just leave me alone? She gave me back that ocarina... I just want to be left alone. I need to get out.


	5. I screw everything up, again

I was leaving tonight and that was that. It'd been two days since I'd woken up here, and the desire to leave has done nothing by grow.

My health hasn't improved that much... but I'm getting impatient with the waiting around, growing complacent. I can do that and more from the comfort of the forest, without the prying eyes. Especially Zelda's.

It's obvious we both drive each other absolutely crazy, which is why I don't understand why she keeps visiting me everyday. To smack talk me? I have no clue what her motive is.

At night it's hard to sleep, and I spend most of the day stuck lying down, cursing my injury and my carelessness that landed me in this bed.

Sometimes I'll walk around outside, (and yes, I wear a shirt) but I end up just feeling like I'm in the way, a waste of space to everyone. More reason to leave then.

———

It's well past midnight and I'm wide awake in bed, staring out the window to check for movement below. Since Hyrule is at war, it's only natural there's guards posted around the perimeter of the ranch, so I'll have to avoid those guys.

It may not be a walk in the park, but it won't be impossible. And besides, I've had experience shirking detection before. As "intimidating" as these soldiers may seem, the ones from the castle seemed as dense as bricks to me. And the Gerudo guards aren't much better.

My mind drifts back to that Gerudo from a few days ago, who absolutely wrecked me. Okay... maybe they're quite a bit better... but I was more competent then. I don't know... but I'm not expecting a challenge or confrontation.

One immediate problem I face though is getting my stuff back. Zelda, probably assuming I'd take the stuff and run, (lucky guess) stashed it somewhere so I couldn't get it. It's tucked right in her guest room. Great.

And while getting it from a sleeping Zelda would be easy... she's apparently nocturnal. No joke.

She's up so late, planning and strategizing. I can see it on her face the next day, continuously getting more run down, the dark circles under her eyes are beginning to look like bruises.

Since I've been planning my escapade for the last few days, I snooped on her to see when she does finally conk out. And it's really super duper late... almost dawn, for crying out loud.

I decide I'll just head over to the room and wait. I slink out of bed, tiptoeing to the door. I twist the handle as quietly as I can, opening the door. It squeaks.

I hold my breath, glued to the door, listening for some signs of movement.

I'm so paranoid... I feel like I can hear voices and noises around the house.

Time to move on. I slip down the hallway to the guest room, where Zelda's staying. Dim light spills out from under the door.

I bite my lip in annoyance, pondering how I want to proceed. If she's awake... maybe I can trick her into thinking she's dreaming... no, that's stupid, she's not gonna fall for that. I'll think of something.

I inch the door open (this one doesn't squeak) and peek in, seeing the lantern is still lit on the table, producing light.

Zelda is sitting next to it, her head slumped against the map of Hyrule she has spread out, for strategy purposes I assume. Notes are scrawled around her and the quill she still has clasped in her hand has made a nice stain. She's out like a light.

I take a deep breath and walk in, trying to be as quiet as possible, panicking inside my head... what if she wakes up? She's gonna kill me... oh geez, I don't to die at her hands. I make my way around her, as far away as I can until I'm practically hugging the wall. My belt is handing off the bed frame, just waiting for me to put it back on. Why'd she have to take it?

I make it to the bed without any problems, where I grab my belt and start to leave.

Should I turn off her light? Ugh, moron, why do I care? It's her problem that she forgot anyway. I still end up doing it though, the flame putters out and then I leave in the dark, hearing her shift in her sleep and go still.

I close the door, letting out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. Well, I've done it... now to get out of here.

I go back to my room, slipping my belt on around my waist. The belt with my sword was also taken away, but I don't care, that thing is too small anyway, and I can get another one. I'd rather have my pouch, since the stuff in there really is vital. My hookshot will be my way out.

I get onto the bed, kneeling next to the window. This is one that can be opened, and I should be able to get through. It opens easily, letting in the cool night air, which I graciously accept. I remember nights like these during my adventures around Hyrule, they were always a nice reprieve from my destiny hanging over me like a sword. I liked to ride Epona around sometimes and watch the sun come up.

Snapping out of the memory, I fumble around for my hookshot, feeling the ocarina brush my hand. Oh right, the ocarina.

I take it out and place it on the nightstand. Zelda can have it. I'm done.

The hookshot comes out next, the gold one from NL, gleaming in the moonlight. I grasp it in my left hand, beginning to pull my body out of the window, legs first. It's a weird sensation, sticking you feet out into open air, like you're falling.

Now I'm sitting on the windowsill, my legs dangling over the guard posted next to the door. I'm surprised they don't see me, but it's a good thing. It's dark, everything is just visible as a dark outline.

I hold out my left arm, aiming the hookshot onto the roof of the stables, trying to get me near the middle.

I press the trigger, and with a metal _cling_ the chain shoots out, piercing the shingles. My arm is violently tugged away from my shoulder, catapulting me from the window and jerking me to the roof. I hit into the roof, feeling the shingles bite into my knees. I quickly free the arrow from the roof and stand up, feeling my knees sting in protest. I'm so reckless... why do I always have to injure myself?

Okay, time to go. I survey down below again, and somehow that metal clang didn't seem alert to any of the guards, much less wake up the whole camp for that matter. Weird.

I walk over towards the wall, which is a lot taller than I thought it was. I don't know how I'm going to get down without dying. There's no footholds for me, and if I fall I won't only kill myself but also break at least two bones in my body. My hookshot won't help me either, getting smacked down the ten or eleven feet to the floor definitely won't be good. It just sounds painful. I'd probably slam my face into the dirt.

It's so late it's almost dawn, I can see the sky lightening to my left, which means I won't have much time left.

I inch over to the corner of the roof, giving the ground below a long look, pondering my choices. Stay trapped in this prison and this war with Zelda or be back home with a serious injury from falling. Yeah... I prefer the latter.

It's not or never. I'm about to slip down the wall when I hear a shout.

"Hold it!"

It's so loud in comparison to the nighttime ambience, I'm startled, stumbling and losing my footing on the shingles.

_I'm gonna fall, aren't I? Just great._

My life flashes before my eyes as I fall, and I don't know how to prepare myself for the landing.

I bang into the ground, my head hits the dirt so hard it rebounds off. Stars crack across my vision. Owww. A headache begins immediately and I lay there, feeling broken. I think my midriff injury has reopened... I feel the wetness. Everything aches, the world is spinning and I can't focus on anything.

The soldier who yelled at me is now leaning over my body, trying to say something to me. He eventually drops that tactic and picks me up from the ground. I'm in no state to retaliate, so I just let him take me, closing my eyes to try and stop the dizziness, the stars still burning under my eyelids.

———

Zelda sitting by the bed isn't a welcome sight when I finally wake up, feeling the stiffness in my body from the fall. I'm back to being shirtless with fresh bandages wrapped around my waist.

Zelda has her arms crossed, a disappointed look on her face.

"What?" I snap.

I begin to sit up but when I feel my headache flare up again I fall back onto the pillows.

"I can't believe you... you're such an idiot! You weren't even fully healed and you had the _audacity_ to sneak into my room, steal, and then sneak onto the roof?! And then you fell?" She facepalms.

I turn my head away from Zelda. I don't care if she's fed up with me, I'm fed up with her too.

"Listen princess, if you're so mad at me, just let me go home."

"No."

"Why not?"

She glares at me, her face turning red. Zelda doesn't say anything for a few seconds, and it becomes very clear to me there's no reason.

"... let me guess, you can't think of a good excuse to let me stay?" I retort.

"Shut up."

She's so defensive!

"Just stay here, please..."

Her voice is softer now, and I can feel her grab my hand in hers. I stare at her with an empty expression.

"You should at least heal up first... please do that for me, but-"

"But what?"

I see her bite her lip, "I think you'd be a good asset for the war effort... you've fought Ganondorf before along his monsters and Gerudo warriors. "

So she's trying to enlist me into the army? Huh. That's something new.

I don't even know how to respond... how can she think I'll do good? She knows what happens when I get in a fight nowadays... or fall off the things apparently.

"Are you kidding?"

"What? No, I'm serious Link."

Zelda squeezes my hand, smiling at me.

"Just consider it please?"

"Fine, but just to shut you up."

"Uh huh."

She squeezes my hand again, letting my hand fall back down onto the blanket. She leaves and I can hear her door opening and closing down the hall. Back to her constant strategizing I guess. She's going to work herself to death if she doesn't watch it.

———

As I'm stuck here, forced to "heal", I begin to spend more time with Malon. She's really nice, like I remember, and she isn't too busy. Of course she has her farm chores, along with working as a sort-of medic for the war, but she isn't a total workaholic like Zelda. And unlike Zelda, she's pleasant company.

I don't see Zelda that much anymore after my attempted escape, even less than before. She spends the whole day stuffed up in her room, and she even forgets to eat most of the time. I've peeked in a few times and she hasn't even noticed, she's so absorbed in her planning, it's become her life. That's... kinda sad. I don't know why she's let herself become consumed by it, she isn't even the General of the army. That's that Dohean-guy's job, to make the plans. But whatever, at least I'm not pestered anymore.

I leave the house in the mid-morning, hearing the hustle and bustle around me. Shipments of supplies from Kakariko lie in crates near the stable. I skirt them and go in the door.

Malon's in there, singing to the horses while filling their troughs with hay.

Her voice has really warmed up into something beautiful from when she was younger. I don't say anything and instead listen to her, seeing how calm the horses look.

"I know you're there," I hear a smile in her voice, and she turns around, cutting off her song.

I smirk, "Hey."

"I've gotta finish this real quick, it'll just be a second."

"I'll help, if you want."

She looks almost surprised by my offer, a pink blush on her cheeks. Malon smiles.

"Sure, come over here and help me then fairy boy."

I like the way she says it, like it's a term of endearment. When Zelda calls me that it's an insult.

It's quick work giving the horses their food, and I end up at Epona's stall, stroking her face absentmindedly.

"You miss her, don't you?"

"Of course I do..."

"Well then why don't you take her back with you?"

I sigh, dropping my hand.

"I can't... I can't take care of her the way she needs to be taken care of. That's why she should stay here, so you can take good care of her."

"Yeah... that's probably a good idea, you'd forget all about brushing her and caring for her hooves..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

We both laugh. I like this type of banter, while it may include insults, it's all for good fun.

"C'mon, let's go." She says, shoveling the hay back into the pile with a pitchfork.

I give Epona one more pat and follow Malon, wondering if I could actually stay here and let this become my life.

Oh dear Farore, I hope not.


	6. To prove myself

Turns out it isn't a choice. Zelda practically forces me to join the Hylian Army, something I never thought I'd do. (Guess I'm more like the other Link than I'd thought)

I'm kicked out of Malon's house once I'm fully healed and am moved into a tent of my own by the other soldiers.

The first thing I'm forced to do is to "show my skills" for Dohean, so he can fit me into the army accordingly. Zelda actually took the time out of her busy strategizing to come and watch me. Great, now she'll see my embarrassing and nonexistent skills.

———

A small crowd is gathered around me and I can feel the sweat rolling down my neck. The day is hot and sultry with a cool breeze. I've already been outfitted in the soldier's uniform, a light blue sleeveless tunic with a collared white undershirt, a tawny pair of pants, and boots. Classy. I guess I'll get some armor later, because this barely counts as protection. At least I got my belt back.

I'm supposed to show my proficiency in melee combat and then with a bow.

Another soldier comes over to me, helping me strap on the shoulder guards and gauntlets. I'm honestly wondering where they're getting these tools from. I mean, their base of operations- the castle, has been completely decimated by Ganondorf's forces. Eh, probably from Kakariko and the Gorons.

I'm handed a sword and shield, fiddling with my grip on the sword. It's the right size for me, unlike the sword I've had before, which means I'll hopefully be able to do better than that failure two weeks ago.

Dohean comes over to me, and he already looks unimpressed... I haven't even done anything yet!

"You're to fight whoever I send out. Prove to me you know what you're doing, the princess has told me of your skills." I can almost hear the disdain in his voice, and I can't help when my face flushes with embarrassment. Why did Zelda have to give me a good rep? I'm going to do something stupid and get injured again, and not only am I going to make a fool of myself, but Zelda will too. And knowing her, she'll get mad at me.

Dohean steps away from me and nods to one of the soldiers in the crowd, someone of a higher rank than me. He's one of those elite that Malon told me about. They're called knights, and they're specially chosen apparently. I nervously gulp. What _exactly_ did Zelda tell him about me?

He steps out from the group of onlookers (witnesses to my potential failure) and faces me.

I put on my best determined face, trying to get into a fighting stance. ... I feel really stupid. I feels so awkward and clumsy, holding my sword out in front of my body and my shield at my side. I've forgotten a lot, to say the least.

He grins and charges at me, and I can feel myself stumbling away, his sword smacking into my shield, which bites into my shoulder. Cute.

There's a long stretch of time where I can't get a hit in edgewise, forced to cower behind my shield. He's like a whirlwind, refusing to stop, unleashing an absolute _flurry_ of attacks. It's mindboggling to me.

I've got to do something... all I'm doing is hiding and letting him chip away at me. At this rate, I'll be too exhausted to continue, it takes a lot of effort to heft up this piece of metal. And with the combined heat and nervousness, I'm sweating bottles over here.

As he continues to attack, I become more evasive, some long forgotten instinct returning to me. I look at his attacks, trying to find a space for me to counter him, anything would work. I'll play dirty if I hate to, although I doubt that'll sit well with Dohean.

There's one tiny falter, one little mistake made by my opponent that is my chance. I rush for my attack, slashing at his exposed side that he's neglected to guard from me. What an arrogant guy. Fighting like that is gonna get you killed, says the guy who almost died because of his carelessness a total of two times in the past week or two. And I doubt they'll be the last. Like I said, weird things happen to me.

Surprise registers on his face, surpassing even the obvious pain I know he's feeling. I can pack a punch if I want to.

He stumbles back, grimacing at me, his teeth are clenched together. Sheesh, a hothead _and_ arrogant?!

If I thought that he'd been fighting hard before, then it's at least double that now. There's just a fervor and force behind his movements, his anger radiates off him.

I don't get another chance to attack, and I can see his blood soaking his shirt as he keeps hacking away at my shield. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die here. That'd be a real shame.

He manages to get his blade under the rim of my shield, flinging my shield arm aside and pushing me back. I feel the blade cut into me again, right on my midriff. Again. What's with these people? Cuts bite into my legs and arms, and I let myself topple to the ground. Defeated.

I hear the dirt crunch as he comes over to my fallen body, planting his blade in the dirt near me.

Everything is quiet and still, and I stare up at the sky, a cerulean color with a few wispy clouds like faded scars.

I feel his hand grab mine and roughly pull me up.

I can feel the blood drain from my face, nervous like a child about to get scolded. Dohean comes over to me, even more unimpressed than before. The knight goes and stands next to him, pressing a hand to his side to stop the blood flow.

He turns away from me, telling someone to take me to the medic.

I'm beginning to feel lightheaded and I'm already in a bad mood with how I handled the fight. For a second there... I thought I had a chance.

As I'm led to the infirmary, I let my eyes drop to the floor.

They lay me down and begin to pull of my shirt. I stare up at the canvas tent, exhausted by this. I knew I wasn't cut out for the army, and yet Zelda never listened to me... because I'm nothing compared to her majesty. And now she won't let me leave, she'll chain me up if she has too, I'm sure of it. Why? I don't know why she wants me to stay here. I won't be able to "contribute" like she says. I don't get her.

I feel myself began to slip away, everything is warm and it's honestly kinda relaxing. I focus on that instead of the pain in my abdomen, drifting off to sleep.

———

When I wake up it's dark. That's the first thing I noticed. Guess I slept through the rest of the day then.

My bandages this time are sticky with blood, and I bet they haven't been cleaned since they put them on me. That's okay... I've dealt with worse before. I get beat up a lot, and yet I'm horrible at first aid. In NL, there wasn't really any time to patch myself up, and besides, I'd be healed within three days anyway, so why waste time? I just trooped on, even when it became unbearable at times. That whole place was unbearable.

In the midst of the quiet night, I slip outside, pulling my shirt on over my head to guard against the chilly air. I don't know why or where I'm walking to, so I just pace around in arbitrary lines, reliving today and the days before that. I didn't know I could be such a nostalgic guy, I usually try to forget.

As I make a lap close to Malon's house, I see a light still on in the kitchen. Intrigued, I slip over by the window, flattening myself against the wall to stay hidden in the shadows. Eavesdropping is so... juvenile- so like Mido to do, but I find myself inching up my eye to the window to peek.

It's Zelda and Dohean. Great. My favorite people.

They're arguing, and while they're trying to be quiet- I can tell, it's still loud enough for me to hear.

"- You were wrong about him. He is incompetent in combat and is therefore unfit for one of the higher positions. The best he can do is infantry, although we don't need another useless soldier."

Zelda's voice cuts back at him, "He is a hero... I know he is."

"He _was_ , at least that's what I've been told. He isn't fit out for this. He may have been proficient once, but that's very different from being skilled currently."

"You saw his potential. I know you did! You have to give him a chance! I know his fighting instinct... it's still there, somewhere."

"That isn't a guarantee. Look, I don't want to take any chances. This is war Zelda, this isn't to be dealt with frivolously. I need soldiers who will always be ready for a fight. We don't have time to wait for someone's instinct to kick in. All we accomplish by letting him fight is getting him killed."

"Just let him join infantry... please."

I hear Dohean give an exasperated sigh. There's a long pause, I get paranoid that they might know I'm listening.

"Alright, fine. But if he makes a big slip up, he's out. You're the one who wants him here, so you can figure out what to do with him."

"Okay. Now back to the stra-"

I tune out, turning away from the window and the wall, back to the field, taking in what I heard.

It's so odd to hear Zelda of all people standing up for me to this man. She's _fighting_ for me. And I don't understand why she's doing it. She's all sorts of confusing.

I go back to my tent and lie down, fingering my wrapped abdomen under my tunic. Tomorrow- or whenever I'm recuperated enough, I guess I'll begin whatever soldiers do. Training? I don't know. I never really wanted to be a soldier, sure... fighting can be fun, but I guess I'm a loner at heart because the idea of being stuck up in a barrack with dozens of others doesn't exactly sound nice. At all. Heroing is one thing... soldiering is gritty and not as noble andmajestic. Or honored, I guess. And I'm not in it for the honor, but I really am considering what Dohean said.

If I can't get my fighting together, I can and will die on the battlefield. No questions about it. My fighting is so finnicky I keep getting into all sorts of sticky situations. Soldiers need to be counted on. I've already tried sneaking out of the place for Din's sake... I'm about as flippant as they come!

Zelda to me, seems lost in the romanticism of a hero and the instinct to fight. And most of all, she's lost in a past that doesn't exist. One where I'm a hero and actually good with a blade.

I really don't have what it takes.

I eventually fall asleep, my dreams twist into nightmares with the Moon Children, asking me over and over again "are you a hero?".

Am I a hero?

———

_Zelda_

I don't know why I vouched for Link as much as I did. I wasn't lying, but I definitely didn't have to talk him up to the General like I did.

I could feel his nervousness and his embarrassment from earlier today, feeling the General's eyes boring into my head as the fairy boy was beaten and broken. I know what he was thinking, how I'm a disappointment. That, from Link's failure, I am a failure too.

It hurt, but it was the truth.

And now he's in infantry. I bet he'll be mad at me... but I know who he is, how he can fight- or used to anyway. And there's a part of me, a deep intuition perhaps, that can tell his fight is still within him, waiting in its cage for the chance to return.

He may be the husk of the hero he was, broken by some unknown event during his absence from my life, but I can still see traces of the old Link. He's definitely a lot more snarky now, but sometimes I can see glimpses of him as a hero, even now, when he's annoying and irritating most of the time.

The General is looking over my notes, his cold eyes slide to the left as he read.

These are my strategy plans. I've been cooped up for days in my room planning them out. I see it as my chance to prove myself.

"What do you think?" I blurt out.

"While there are some traces of a solid plan of attack, it's lacking. The size of Ganondorf's forces is currently unknown... he could have twice the number of our men. Keep that in mind. While we don't know much about our enemy, we have to take every precaution. There's no reason for them not to be attacking here right now, we have to always be on our guard. "

I think it out, trying to lay out a plan in my head, the end goal being to capture the castle back.

"Well, for security, we could up the night guard, along with the day patrols as well."

He nods, considering it.

"For more of a solid plan, I still support the idea that we should call for a war consul with the other tribes, along with our fellow Hylians in Kakariko. When will they come?"

"Well, the Gorons opted to have it in their territory, or in Kakariko. The Zoras want it in their Domain. And there isn't a date yet."

I bite my lip, it's only natural the Zoras and Gorons want to stay protected in their own respective dwellings.

"Well, at a time like this there can't be that liberty, there'll have to be a vote."

"Okay, I'll tell some messengers to send word. Anything else?"

Anything? An idea springs into my head, and I let it run out of my mouth before I can stop to reconsider.

"Link. Can he come to the consul?"

Dohean glowers at me, "Him? What use will he be at a war consul?"

"Simple. He's fought Ganondorf before, along with his monsters and Gerudo warriors. If anyone knows how Ganondorf operates, Link's one of the best assets we have. It's an order, he is going."

I hear him sigh, knowing how tiring I am to him... how exasperated I make him. He's always seen me as such, a child lost in frivolous fantasies with dreams that only prove how crazy I am. He's always respected my father, with extreme loyalty and dedication to boot. But my father's gone now, and Dohean has yet to treat me as the rightful heir to Hyrule, the Queen.

I'm still the crazy little girl to him, not a young ruler who is trying her best in times of struggle.

"I do not wish to argue with you princess. You're the one who's responsible for him during the meeting though." He begins to turn away, towards the door.

"Done. Oh! And one more thin-"

He faces me again, cutting me off, "If you think I'm going to let you fight in this war, you are very mistaken. While you have much to learn in the way of governance, you are the heir and we cannot lose you."

"I can fight. Impa has trained me in the Sheikah techniques. Plea-"

"No. No more of that. Goodnight." He snaps and walks out into the night, the door clicks shut behind him.

My heart is heavy, my temper flaring as I make my way to my guest bedroom. The desk is a mess of papers strewn across the surface, but I manage to tidy it up.

I lay down on the bed, not bothering to change into a nightgown. My clothes are warmer anyway.

As tonight's discussion with Dohean plays in my head, I tell myself that I can and will prove my right to rule to him, my right to fight, and my right to make decisions for the best of my people. It's a tall order, but I will not stop until the day I can finally shock that smug man, wipe that cold and disappointed look right off his face.

_Prove it to him._


	7. “Conditioned”

Everything hurts. I guess that just shows how out of shape I am.

I'm currently running laps, while wheezing like a sick person. It's embarrassing I'm so bad at this. I don't know what Zelda was talking about... I'm definitely _not_ cut out for this.

It's another hot and sweaty day, and my bangs are stuck to my forehead, drenched in sweat.

While I'm not unhealthy or anything- at least I like to think that, this constant rigor and action is something I haven't had to experience in years. My life in the forest was nice and filled with leisure. I mean, I did stuff, but I wasn't trying to get built or anything.

It's been a few days since I was thrown in infantry, and I hate it. Everyday is the same. The regimen is taxing on me and I go out like a light at night. I guess the only good thing is that I'm too exhausted to have any dreams.

We run a lot. And practice fighting, with wooden swords thankfully, I'm so over getting stabbed.

Mostly it's just waiting around until we're all finally useful. There's been small skirmishes outside of the prison the camp has become, there's no way I can escape now. And I bet Zelda would make my leave a crime like desertion or even possibly treason. Maybe I can go MIA in the next battle... good idea.

Most of the lower ranking soldiers are younger than me. It's embarrassing. Some of them were drafted, but a large number had already been vying for a position in the army. Heh. I bet they thought they'd become knights immediately. While putting them in their place should've humbled them, many are still arrogant.

I'm still a loner, even if I'm always around those guys, but a few of them are okay. There's this one who's around my age, he's a lot better at this than me though. A Castletown native too, apparently.

There's a few more excruciating laps around the field before we get to stop for lunch. I get my ration as quick as I can and book it to my spot next to the tree, and away from everyone. The shade tints everything underneath the the tree a serene evergreen and offers reprieve from the blasted heat that is searing down today.

I hear someone coming and see Malon's freckly face. She sits down next to me and begins to crunch into an apple.

"How's training today, fairy boy?" She says mid-bite, a drop of apple juice dribbles down her chin. I pretend not to notice.

"It bites. At this rate, I'll be dead before the next battle."

I hear a giggle and roll my eyes. This only triggers more laughter from her.

"Careful! Don't choke or anything. Geez... I'm not _that_ funny."

She manages to fend off her giggles to swallow her apple without dying, her face flushed pink.

"Yeah, you really aren't funny."

"Says the girl who almost choked laughing." I retort.

She shoots me a look.

"Hey."

I glance up from Malon, it's the guy. Shocker.

"Oh hey," I pause, blanking out, "... you're Edmund right? Sorry, I'm a moron." I laugh at my own dumb joke, making a fool of myself as per the usual. Malon shoots me another look.

"Yeah."

Then there's an awkward pause, Edmund glances down at his shoes. I think I know what he's waiting for.

"... do you uhh want to sit here?" I ask.

"Oh, is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

I turn to Malon, who has a raised eyebrow. Is she surprised there's someone else I'm somewhat friendly with? Geez, what kind of dweeb does she think I am?

"This is Edmund, by the way, from the military."

"Yeah, I can see that fairy boy." She turns to Edmund, "Hello, sorry about my friend here, he's special."

Edmund laughs, "Oh that's fine, I guess he is kinda special..."

My temper flares.

"Hello! I'm right here guys!" I cross my arms as they continue their sniggering.

Edmund sits down and we all sit in silence for a few minutes, eating, glancing at each other to make the first move in talking.

"Isn't this your farm? How do you feel about everyone being here?"

Malon takes time to chew her food before responding (for Edmund but not me?) "Well yeah, this is my family's farm. As for the field full of people..." she sighs, looking out at the others in the distance, "it is what it is. While I miss the peace and quiet, this is war and all those people don't have homes to go back to. The Ranch was a strategic fortress during the Civil War too, I was a baby then so I don't remember it."

"Oh yeah, I've heard about that. My dad was killed in that battle."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. I don't remember him. I lived in Castle Town with my mom until of course..." he doesn't elaborate, but we all know what he's talking about.

I just sit and let them have their conversation. Also... I'm still slightly miffed from them talking about me like I wasn't there. Petty, I know, but I'll cool off in a sec.

"Do you help out for the war at all?" Edmund asks, changing the subject.

Malon perks up at this, a smile growing on her face, "Oh! Yeah, I don't do much... "

"Oh shut up," I cut in, turning to Edmund, "she's told me all about working in the infirmary. Despite never working much in first aid and stuff, she's done a really good job. She's a fast learner."

Malon's face turns as red as her hair, which is very very red. She looks shocked, her wide blue eyes meeting mine.

"What're you doing fairy boy?" She hisses at me, still in a state of shock.

"Just act cool, calm down... geez, I was just trying to compliment you. Why're you so offended?!" I whisper back.

Her blush deepens, I didn't even know that was possible, "I am calm! And besides, it's just weird you're being more nice than usual."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" I retort with a glare, which just shows how I'm anything but nice most of the time.

"You guys act like an old married couple." I hear Edmund say as he laughs.

Great, now I'm as red as Malon's hair too.

"Oh geez, it's not like that at all... right?"

"Yeah, totally not. What're you thinking?" Malon adds.

Then we both laugh awkwardly... which just makes Edmund laugh more.

"Oh for the love of Nayru..." I say, facepalming.

The remainder of lunch is largely spent in silence and I keep my eyes on my food. Malon and Ed make attempts at small talk, but everything just putters out.

Eventually I get up.

"Where're you going?" Malon asks.

I shrug. "I dunno, might go try to get a bullseye."

"Wait. You haven't gotten one yet?"

Why are they both so nosy? Now that I'm stuck in the military, everyone keeps trying to pry and get into my business. Who cares if I haven't been able to shoot as good as I remember?

"I have." I say through gritted teeth, "I just want to polish up my skills that are very very real."

Great. Now it sounds like I'm overcompensating because of self doubt.

"I think he tells himself that to help him sleep at night." I hear Malon whisper, which literally makes him laugh at loud.

"Mmkay." I try to sound flippant but there's an obvious edge in my voice, so I sound as irritated as I am.

I begin to walk away, feeling the sun's rays pierce me, now that I'm out from under the tree.

I'd like to say I walked away with all my dignity, but that'd be a lie. I practically sulked away from the two of them, putting as much distance between us as I could. I don't know. I just need to clear my head.

In all honesty, I'm looking for a fight, but I know no one would want to waste their time on me. Ever since that first fight that landed me here, everyone's been wary to fight me. They want bigger challenges.

I have gotten better though, I'm faster on my feet and my reaction time has shortened.

While I came over here to wherethe weapons and training gear are with archery in mind, I end up slashing my sword at a dummy instead. It just seems like a better method on releasing anger.

I become wrapped up in it, and the only sound is my pathetic ragged breathing and the impact made on the dummy. It's like tunnel vision, all I can see and focus on is this exact moment. My anger even begins to melt away, surprisingly enough.

It's just me and the sword. Oh, and the dummy too, but we don't care about him- and... it's an inanimate object. The sword too. Never mind.

Since I'm apparently so "nostalgic" now, I find myself slipping back again. And guess what? It's NL. Again. Why can't I have flashbacks of Navi? Sure, she's as annoying as Mido is a punk, but at least memories of her aren't connected to that place. Other than the fact that my search for her landed me smack dab in an apocalyptic land. But I digress.

_As per usual, everything seems to fade away, and even though I know I'm still at the ranch and sweating like a moblin, I see something different._

_I'm back in that blasted castle's courtyard, amidst the broken and dilapidated landscape._

_The colors on the wall are still vibrant amongst the otherwise dusty and dreary landscape. I can't look up, I know what I'm going to see looming over me._

_I hear a voice by my side, talking about sensing something like a "thirst for blood" and needing "a mask to see the unseen" . So this is where I am, back to fighting one of these empty shells of darkness that haunt this cursed land._

_Hyrule slips away as I'm pulled into a fight. I can feel myself pulling out the mask, dark and hooded, with two lights twinkling like stars._

_I see it appear of out thin air, a hood with the same lights as my mask, like eyes. It won't attack me yet, but I know I should get ready... if it's anything like the other I've encountered._

_"Master!"_

_I can feel my heart begin to beat faster, and I can't say anything. It waits expectantly for a response but my mouth won't work._

_"What're you doing? Say something!" I hear Tatl hiss at me, but I ignore her. Geez, she's more annoying than I remembered._

_"...!!! You're not my Master! What happened to you? You're so ugly!" It shrieks._

_This guy's a lot more mouthy than the other ones, I'll give him that. A ring of fire flickers to life around us, gaining height and barring any quick getaway. Other than death, that is._

_I pull out my sword and shield just as the robed ninja slides two blades out of its sleeves, skinny but sharp and seeking to draw blood._

_Even though I've fought many before, I feel the panic that hasn't left since my arrival to this land double._

_I can barely fumble my shield to block my front before the thing barrels down on me, blades extended forward._

_It slams into my shield I've pulled in the nick of time and it falls to the ground, I take that as my chance to attack, slashing into its body, which offers little to no resistance. It really is like that scientist said... emptiness cloaked in darkness. Creepy._

_It jumps back, pulling it's blades in an X in front of itself. It lowers to the dusty ground, ready to push off._

_I let my shield arm hang at my side, my confidence inflating as I watch the robe rush at me again._

_It's more fast than I thought, and it's slim blades slice into me, I stumble back, trying to fend off any other attacks._

_Everything grows back and I feel the ground open beneath my unsteady feet, emptying me into nothing. I hear the laugh, it's laugh, the first sound I heard when I felt into this land, and then all is quiet._

The sun is too bright I notice, the day too hot. I'm no longer in that desolate wasteland where the air was thin and dry, as if the entire place had already meant to decay eons ago but it hadn't passed away peacefully, staying like the ghosts that haunted the place, wrapped up in their past lives even though those days are long gone.

I blink, trying to adjust myself to the bright light, still feeling an ache in my chest where the thing stabbed me, it felt so real.

I can't move, glued to the spot, my mind working double. What's wrong with me? I have a handle on this... I can stop this. Those memories don't haunt me. That _place_ doesn't haunt me. Then why does it follow me everywhere? It looms over me like that moon, waiting to creep up on me.

I've got to get out of the open and find somewhere quiet to recuperate. No one should see me like this, I already seem weak enough and I had just begun to get somewhat accustomed to this new life. 

"You calmed down yet?" I hear a snarky voice behind me.

I don't respond, I look up and notice my sword's is buried in the dummy, my hand empty. I hadn't noticed.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Fine. I might've worked it too hard..."

I walk away, not even looking back to see as Edmund asks me what's wrong. I don't want to tell anyone. I'm fine.

A quiet space is hard to find, but I slip down the field to the stone tower on be edge of the ranch. It's mainly deserted and the door opens easily. Inside it's dark and there's the same crates that have always been stacked up. Cobwebs cling to the boxes and the stone walls. Hasn't been used in years, from the looks of it. Perfect. It's a good place to hide. I mean... be alone?

I settle down in a space between two boxes and lean against the wall, feeling the chill of the stone bricks through my clothes. I stare up at the lantern hanging on the ceiling, dark and empty save for more cobwebs.

I don't know how long I'll stay here, I don't want to be out in the open yet. I don't know why. Everything is perfectly fine. I just need to forget that place.

Forget and move on. And while I'm at it, find a way to get the heck out of this place without angering the three people I don't want to anger.


	8. Scattered like sand

_ ~ Nabooru ~ _

_Days after the attack_

Questioning the Gerudo King is something only a fool would do.

Deviating from the King is for those who have a death wish.

I regard myself as neither, and yet I have done both.

While Ganondorf is my sovereign, he isn't a King that should have this power, even the power over our own small corner of Hyrule.

He has corrupted the tribe and now we are severed in two. Those who follow them and those who don't. The latter now follow me.

While this is a direct deviation from our culture, that our ruler is the male Gerudo born every hundred years, it has to be done.

The attack on the castle had been brewing in the fortress for weeks before it came, being planned and calculated before the slaughter. The tension by the bridge to the desert had been iffy at best and very troublesome at worse.

The night the attack was launched I took the few confidants I had gathered, there weren't many, and fled the fortress. While running from danger is something a warrior shouldn't do, there was no choice but to leave. There was no turning back after that. My allegiance to Ganondorf had already been questionable by the others and I knew I was regarded with suspicion by my sisters.

My leave would cement my betrayal to the king and paint me as an enemy and a traitor.

———

The sunrise comes over the dunes, bleeding out over the horizon as the sky begins to lighten, bringing the arid heat with it.

We've managed to find an obscure corner of the desert to hide in, an ancient building made of bricks, similar to the one on the way to the Desert Colossus. But we couldn't go there, they'd have found us immediately.

"So what's our next move?"

I turn away from the open doorway, seeing the three of them staring at me, waiting.

I set my jaw, of course I somewhat considered what would happen next after I exiled myself from the rest of the tribe, but I'd never made a deliberate plan. The last few days have been turbulent to say the least, and my paranoia has only now begun to fade.

I have to reassure them though, getting even three of my sisters hadn't been an easy task, I'm surprised they even decided to endanger themselves for me.

Loyalty to a person only goes so far when lives are on the line.

"I doubt we'll be able to get any of the others to our side." I say, pausing to think.

"Do you blame them?" Ared retorts sharply, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Of course I don't... you know that."

She doesn't respond further, letting her gaze slip to the sand covered floor.

The other two, Fesire and Gini, are silent.

The only sound for awhile is the wind blowing the sand across the desert.

"Where are we going to go? We can't return home and we can't stay here either, we'll end up rotting away like the place. Do we have to live off dusty uncooked leevers in this decrepit house for the rest of our short lives?" Gini asks, she's picking up handfuls of sand and watching it trickle between her fingers back to the floor.

"Ugh. Don't remind me." The youngest of us, Fesire groans.

It's true, a fire's been nonexistent since we set up camp here, and while the food has been less than subpar... it's better than nothing. But I know this new lifestyle on the run is becoming less appealing to my sisters each day.

I wasn't even particularly close to them, but they did latch on to my concerns about our King's lust for power. I've seen Ared around the most, since she's one of the Elite, the highest rank of the Gerudo save the King and his second-in-command, which was me. Gini and Fesire are Reds, the second highest tier.

It was hard to even find the three of them. The purples, the lowest rank of warrior, are still too young to want to deviate much from their King. They'd be too cautious and would've opted to stay at the fortress. I didn't bother with them, since I didn't want to endanger them, especially if it was found out I was spreading "traitorous lies" and slander about the King to the youth.

"I know this isn't ideal..."

"That's an understatement Nabs." Another remark from Ared.

"But, I gave you a choice to stay and all three of you decided to risk your lives to come with me." I look them all in the eye, seeing the glints of amber almost glow in the light that seeps through the open door.

"What's the plan then? Play vigilante and undermine the damage done by the others? Espionage? Join up with the Hylian forces?" Ared's always been very to the point.

What would be the best? It would be very dangerous to send back one of the three to the Fortress for espionage, especially since they're probably already known to be missing and would be killed on the spot. But... there's a chance the story could be twisted. If it was thought to have been a kidnapping... then maybe...

"Would anyone be up for spying?" I ask.

"Uh... isn't that the same as having a death wish?"

"Not necessarily," I reply,"do any of the others know about your desertion?"

Ared quirks a brow at me, thinking.

"They'll know we're missing... but I don't think anyone knows exactly what happened that night."

We'd left at night and made sure not to leave together. If anyone had seen us, it would've just been the night guard.

"Wait. Nabooru... are you saying?" Gini begins, her brows furrowed in concentration. She'd probably caught onto my plan now.

"Yes. If someone could come back and work in espionage. The problem is... how would the information be relayed?"

"We can't come sneaking back to the Fortress, we'd get found out for sure." Ared says, still flippant despite our potential deaths hanging over our heads.

The Fortress is so well guarded though, there'd be no chance of keeping in touch even if they buy the kidnapping story. Another dead end.

In the thoughtful silence I hear a laugh from Fesire's direction.

"What's so funny?" Ared snaps.

Fesire takes a moment to compose herself, stifling her giggles with a hand. I raise an eyebrow, wondering what her deal is.

"It's just..." there's another fit of giggles, a hint of irritation begins to trickle into me, "sorry, it's just... what if one of the Poes in the wasteland sent the letters back and forth? Like a mailman!" She breaks down into laughter again.

The other three of us exchange glances.

"Yeah... when Gorons swim."

"Or that carpet guy!" Fesire yells out.

"That bum?! Now you've derailed..." Ared turns to me, pointing back at Fesire, " do you hear this Nabs?"

"You know..." I begin.

She groans and rolls her eyes. "Great... someone else believes her nonsense. And it's _you_ of all people..."

"Are you going to let me talk?" She shuts her mouth, "Thanks. But, she might have a point... we need someone that isn't suspicious and isn't involved. And not one of our kind."

"That's true... it's a shame the desert is as uninhabited as it is." Gini replies, still messing with the sand.

"So it's either that crazy man or a ghost? Great. Just great."

"Ooh! Or we could get a leever to do it! Or a guay!!" Fesire pipes in.

More groaning. I begin to rub my temple, almost to my breaking point with her. This is why I'm not around Reds very often... most of them, while they're very competent in their skills and take their jobs seriously, many aren't as serious and dedicated as the Elites, which I'm more accustomed to being around. They're specifically chosen for their dedication along with their skills, so there usually isn't this level of messing around. Ared's a great example of an Elite.

"Sire... leevers and guays aren't smart enough to deliver anything. They're pests." Gini says in a deadpan voice.

I sigh. At this rate... nothing will be done to help undermine Ganondorf's forces. There has to be someplace that could be used... somewhere out of the way and hidden in plain sight.

Wait.

"Hold on... don't give up hope yet. There's a place that could work as a rendezvous spot."

All their eyes widen in disbelief, even Ared's raise slightly, though not as significant as the other two.

"By the bridge, near the end of the valley there's that ledge down there in the river. Nothing's down there. The other three who don't go to spy can set up on one of the ledges in the gorge. No one bothers to look down there."

"Two questions. One, isn't Neera down there with that cow? Two, how would we get back up from that gorge?"

Before I can find my words Fesire blurts out an answer, "Didn't you hear? Neera got swept out by the river one day and I haven't seen her around the fortress since. Wasn't she an Elite? Can I replace her spot? Please?"

Ared and I exchange glances again, she's visibly annoyed, almost broiling with irritation.

"This..." Ared gestures to Fesire, who's perched on top of what appears to be an old desk of some kind, "whatever this is, is the reason you're not an Elite."

"Okay, enough. Ared, whoever returns home can use rope to get down, or one of the grappling hooks." My words are sharp, we'll need to get moving soon if we're to make it to the Fortress by dusk.

They all sense the seriousness in my tone and the mood shifts. They begin reaching for their cloaks and the small amount of other items they took here.

———

The gate stands tall and proud against the darkening sky. Our shadows are cast stark on the ground in front of us, backs facing the lowering sun. The temperature has been dropping steadily for awhile now, and we've all put our cloaks on to protect from the elements.

With some sheer amount of luck, the day has kicked a lot of sand into the air. The many sandstorms that still rage are helping to conceal us from the Gerudos guarding from the gate. It'll be a tough fix, but we're going to climb in from the side and sneak around that way. Once we've made it near the gate, I lead the others closer to its side, walking along the rocky cliffs that rise out of sea of sand which spreads out seemingly endlessly beyond our Fortress.

Working our way along, I keep an eye out for any rocks or footholds we can use to get our way up. The sky truly begins to darken now and it's harder to see anything.

"Here." Gini says, who's scampered ahead of the rest of us, her hand on top of a large pile of boulders. Most likely the product of a rock slide.

I examine the rocks, seeing how this could potentially be scaled.

"Good eye," I don't know if she can see, but a warm smile is on my face.

We all begin to climb into the rocks, all of us are agile on our feet, so this slight exertion is nothing new. The Gerudo Training Grounds we've all had to do before kicks this climb into next week. There's no lava or enemies here. There are guays in the sky, but they're far away, black specks against the murky dark blue sky.

There many crevices in the rocks that make good foot and hand holds, made throughout the ages, weathered away by time.

The top comes eventually, and we all pull ourselves up and onto solid land. We've made it.

"That rock slide was lucky. They're not a common sight around here." Fesire says, stretching out her arms from the climb.

That's true, they're a rare find here, this is the second one I've seen, and I've been around the desert more than most of my sisters.

Our walking picks up after a moment of rest, and I feel a guilt coming over me. I see myself as the one responsible for my sisters, if anything happens to them, it's my fault. I'm the one who convinced them to follow me and to support my fight against our King, and I've put all their lives in danger. If something happens to any of them- and yes, even Fesire, I don't know how I could live with myself. Although there's plenty of other Gerudos my age, I've always felt like an older sister, a protector, if you will, to my tribe, even after I begin to become disinterested in our King's method of governance. I kept myself from becoming an exalted and free Gerudo, a rebel without a cause, so I could keep an eye on my sisters this time, in this timeline. I'm going to hold myself responsible for anything that happens to these three, the only three that actually would give up everything, their home, their reputation and livelihood, for me.

I set my jaw and harden my expression when I feel a sob building in my throat. There is no crying. Not now. Not ever. Not anymore. I've only cried once I remember, and I vowed that would be the end of it. I have to be a strong leader to these three, because right now, I'm the only one they have.

The trek over to the Fortress isn't hard, while the rocky surface of the cliff is precarious, we all make it over south to the edge facing the gate and then past it, deeper into the valley. The desert bathed in darkness behind and beneath us begins to fade away into a dark blue, as we near the fortress, lit up with torches near the entrances inside. In the dim light, the night security stands and paces around their assigned area, I see from above their heads sweeping back and forth over the terrain. Ever since Ganondorf's attack on the castle, it seems security has been amped up, with double the amount of Gerudos than there are normally. There's even some Reds, their ruby uniforms are blood red in the flickering torchlight.

He must be planning for a possible ambush by the Hylians then. There doesn't appear to have been any attempt yet though.

"Who's going?" I ask quietly, worried my voice could carry down below.

"Me." I wasn't expecting Gini to volunteer, but her eyes glimmer with determination and her mouth is fixed into a line. She's serious about this.

I nod my assent.

"I should enter before the gate though... make it seem like I escaped from the traitorous and exalted Nabooru and her two evil cronies." Her voice is dry and I even let myself have a chuckle at her words. That's what the other Gerudos think of me now. They've been blinded by our King... he is the traitorous one, making the Gerudo into a hated and murderous race. His hunger for power is too strong, and if left unchecked, he will rule all, some way. I glance back down at my sisters below as we make our way back to the gate, wishing I could've done more to show them the truth about our King. He is a King, not only if thieves, but of evil, plagued with the want for more and more control and dominion, there's a fire that flares in his heart that drives him.

The gate waits as unmoving as before, a defense against the creatures of the desert outside of the Fortress and beyond Hyrule.

Gini's smearing sand and grime over her face and into her hair, messing up her ponytail. To look the part. A distressed Gerudo who escaped. A survivor. Not a threat. For extra measure, we all help to make her appearance as disheveled as we can, ripping and staining parts of her cloak.

This is all done in silence, the only sound being the wind, ruffling up our hair and bringing it's cold fingers down my back.

When Gini's ready to go, she starts walking back over towards the remains of the rockslide. While it is far away from where we wait, it isn't too long before the blur she's been reduced to slips out of sight and down the cliff.

We all edge down so we can see over the edge, waiting to see her below.

It takes several minutes of waiting, but then I see a cloaked figure running around the sand. Shouts ring out from below and even a wail from Gini's. I'd never suspect she'd be such an actress.

We can barely hear anything from so high up, and the wind only makes it harder, but we see the two Gerudo above come down from their lookouts, the gate clanks up as they rush out to see Gini.

I bite my lip the whole time, trying to remain the ever calm and collected leader I've been shaped into.

By some miracle, they seem to buy her claims. Their weapons are lowered and put into their sheaths, and they welcome her in as a friend, leading her towards the Fortress and supposed safety.

_Good luck down there, young one. I'm sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ranks I used for the Gerudos is directly borrowed from Rose Zemlya's Zelda fanfiction The Return. So all credit for the brilliant idea goes to her.


	9. Clashing

"You really want to fight me? You're gonna regret it."

"Heh. Very funny." I say with an unamused scowl on my face,"You know... I'm not nearly as bad as when I got here."

"I know. But whatever you are now isn't that great either."

It was Edmund's idea to duel. Thought it'd be "fun" and help us practice against an opponent. I think he just wants to do it to make himself look good to Malon and make me an even bigger fool than usual.

The sun's as glaring as usual and I feel myself sweating under my metal shoulder guards and gauntlets, the metal doing more than just reflecting the light onto my face with the heat as well. Cute. My face is probably flushed already, and we haven't even begun our sparring match.

Edmund wanted this fight to be real, so we've both got metal swords in our hands. Just another way for me to get hurt.

Malon's standing a few feet away, watching our banter with crossed arms.

"Y'all ever gonna start? Don't make me call you cucoos."

"We'll get to it in a sec. Geez, calm down, you know... you don't have to watch if you don't want to."

"I'm watchin', hurry up!" She even claps her hands for good measure.

Ed and I exchange glances and I see a smirk widen across his face.

"Shall we... pal?" That last word sends me off the deep end. It feels like ice, that smug look only makes me become more aggressive.

"Sure, buddy."

We lock eyes and I make a smirk of my own, which turns into a determined grin.

I lower myself closer to the ground, sword and shield held out to guard my body, waiting for an attack.

Wait. Should I make the first move?

I pounce at him, swinging my sword towards his front.

He easily deflects the attempt, and my sword clashes against his shield.

I grit my teeth. Why did I agree to do this again? He's gonna turn me into a fillet if it means he shows his superior (that's questionable) skills. Sure, I'm better at swordplay now but that doesn't mean good. Just a smidge more competent.

He comes at me now, and I manage to block him as well, although it is more clumsy. So clumsy that his blade slides across my shield and slices into the lower part of my shoulder, which is unprotected.

His smirk grows more smug and I hiss in pain, backing away from him. Why am I so bad at this? I was a hero for Nayru's sake!

"Regretting anything yet?"

"Hmm... not really, just that I'm wasting my time fighting you."

"Oh really buddy boy? That cut sure doesn't look fun."

"Good observation." I retort, trying to breathe through the pain, my voice is ragged.

While I know this is all fun and games, there's a sort of tension between us, a real sense of competition. He wants to win. I don't want him to. Simple.

I survey him, he's bouncing slightly on his feet, watching me as well... and yes, the smirk is still there. It's almost as if he's taunting me to come and try to attack.

Well I'm going for the bait. I just want to get that stupid grin off his face.

I start a charge at him but just before I get close I side hop and slash at his side and get out of reach before he can try something. He seems surprised, but he quickly recovers.

Him and I attack again at the same time, metal against metal. I push my blade to try and get closer to his body, but he fends it off with his sword.

Something hard slams into my side and I stagger back. That lil bugger rammed his shield into me! A wave of nausea hits with the dull ache and I get even more irritated.

Malon's still watching, and when she catches my eyes she gives me a disappointed look.

I'm out here getting my butt handed to me and she has be audacity to be mad at me about it?! She should try it if she thinks she's such an expert.

I need to concentrate on my enemy though. Focus and find a weak point. It was always so much easier with a fairy.

His guard is pretty good, although he doesn't have on full armor, and neither do I. Catching him unawares is by far the best plan of attack. But that's easier said than done. There's only so many side hops I can do before they're predictable. I've got to do something that'll shock him. Blow his socks off. Whatever.

I get closer to him and sheathe my sword. Confusion flashes in his eyes and I resist a (somewhat evil) grin. He takes the bait and goes in for an easy attack. I hope this stupid idea wasn't too stupid. He's about to stab into my middle- I swear... why is it always the same spot on my abdomen? Are they trying to kill me? I pull out my sword and slash at his chest in his distracted moment. Unfortunately, I still end up getting stabbed. Again. For the third time. I hate everything.

"Well buddy boy," his grin looks more like a painful grimace, "guess we'll call it a draw."

"Yeah. I think you need some medical attention."

"Interesting... I was just about to tell you the same thing!"

We step away from each other and take off our gear. I'm beginning to feel lightheaded again and I don't want to see the blood saturating my tunic. It's ridiculous how much I get stabbed in the exact same spot.

"That was certainly something." Malon says, coming over to the two of us.

"I hope you mean that in a good way," I say.

"Oh don't flatter yourself... although you did do better than that other time."

Well at least it's some improvement.

"What about me Mal?"

"You did good!"

Those two. Geez... they get along absolutely swimmingly and like to pick on me. If Malon and I are the "old married couple" (and I still deny that vehemently) then Ed and Malon are like a pair of playful lovebirds. And I'm the third wheel friend.

"Now c'mon, I can help patch y'all up."

Ed and I follow after her to the infirmary. There's a few other people here, but it's only other medics, cutting up more cloth bandages. There's usually someone in here injured everyday though, mostly those of the higher ranks that get to go out into the field. Bands of monsters with allegiance to Ganondorf are out patrolling by the castle, and so escort soldiers are needed to help take supplies from Kakariko to the camp. It's usually weaker flavors of moblins and stalchildren though, so while it's not a big threat, it still is a hassle for the soldiers who travel back and forth.

They turn to look at me and I see genuine annoyance in their eyes. It's cause I'm a regular here and they're sick of dealing with my broken body like every week since my arrival. But I'm not trying to get beat up, things just happen to me.

"Hey guys, what's new with you?" I ask in a casual manner, grinning at them. They visibly cringe at my words. It's mildly hilarious watching them squirm in annoyance and discomfort from such a mundane and harmless question.

Malon leads Ed and I over to a pair of cots and instructs us to sit down. The other two medics don't join to help, immersing themselves in their work.

"You two sit down and get your wounds exposed, I've gotta grab some supplies."

I sit down and begrudgingly take off my shirt, which has damp spots of both sweat and blood. Guess I'll need to get it washed.

At least I'm not the only shirtless one his time, Edmund has to take off his tunic as well because of the cut on his chest I inflicted to him.

I look at it, it's a slim cut but it's still bleeding nicely, so it goes deeper than I looks.

"That'll make a cool scar." I say.

He laughs, "I doubt it'll scar too bad. You, on the other hand, will have a very noticeable one on your midriff."

I groan, "Don't remind me! This is the third time this has happened!"

Edmund laughs again at my plight, and I turn my head away from him, scowling.

Malon's coming back now with a bundle of bandages and a bottle of salve in her arms.

"Does it matter who I do first?" She asks.

I shake my head. I don't really care.

"Can I go first though?" Edmund says.

"Okay. Just sit tight Link."

I sit awkwardly on the bed because I'm worried I'll get blood on the white sheets of the cot. I bet that'll only make my reputation more infamous. So I have the least amount of my body on the cot as possible.

Ed doesn't take too long to patch up. Malon puts some salve on his cuts and then wraps them up.

"Thanks, I've gotta go now."

"Oh it was nothing..." Malon laughs his gratitude off, waving her hand.

Her attention turns to me now and she clicks her tongue as her eyes land on my latest stab wound.

"What's the 'tsk tsk'ing all about?" I ask.

"The fact that this part of you always gets stabbed. It's almost comical, in a way." She grins at me while she scoops out a dollop of salve. It's some sort of potion I guess. Opaque and a reddish tint. There's a strange aroma from it that isn't bad... just weird.

"Is that like a red potion?"

"Oh. This?" She holds up her hand which has the substance smeared across her palm. I nod. "Yeah, it is. It's a topical variant though. It's from Kakariko. While it helps to heal, it isn't as potent as the potion version, if that's what you're wondering fairy boy."

The red potion lotion (funny name) had a gel-like consistency and felt cool against my inflamed and bloody skin. I barely held off a relieved sigh, it feels really nice.

She quickly covers both cuts with the stuff and then rubs it into the wounds, which stings, but it doesn't take her long. Then the grabs a strip of a bandage and wraps one around my shoulder and secures it. She does the same with my midriff.

"Okay, I'm done with you."

"Oh. Thanks."

"No problem, just try not to get stabbed again, okay?"

"Yeah... I'll try. No guarantees."

She laughs, "Okay now get out of here."

"I can really feel the love, thanks love you too." I joke as I leave the infirmary. Maybe it was a bad idea I'd said love... it only supports Edmund's claims. Crap.

Soldiers training and fighting are all around but I slip past them and go to find someplace quiet to slack off. I feel like I've earned time to take it easy.

I'm about to hightail it into the stables when I hear a door open behind me.

"Link! I've been meaning to talk to you,"

I turn around. It's Zelda. She looks even more bedraggled than before, but there's a small smile on her face from the sight of me.

"What is it princess?" I ask, and see her smile wan a bit. She doesn't like when I call her that.

I almost feel a pang of regret as the twinkle in her pretty sapphire blue eyes dims. She had been happy to see me, and yet all I did was be mean. Best not to think of it right now.

It's also an opportune moment to mention I forgot to get my shirt when I left Malon. Not again. I guess I'm called the Hero of Time for a reason, always repeating the same plights over and over again, shirtless twice, three stab wounds, three days in NL.

"There's going to be a war consul in GoronCity this week, and I've requested for you to attend."

That's a shocker. Never in a million years did I expect to go to a meeting.

"Are you kidding?"

"No." Her face hardens, "I'm not. We're leaving tomorrow."

I bite my lip, "I didn't mean it like that..."

I feel my face flush- with shame?

"I'm just wondering, why me?"

Zelda looks confused, her eyes widened slightly and her lips pursed.

"Oh." It seems to take her a moment to form words. "I think you'd be useful." A small smile returns to her face.

She stands there and I don't know what to say. I feel a sickly feeling in my gut, and it's not caused by my wounds. It's something else inside of me, twisting and churning. Guilt? ... It can't be. I regret nothing. My anger is righteous and she deserves it.

"What happened to you?"

I glance back down at her, and see her hand extend towards my shoulder.

"It was nothing..." I say quickly.

Her fingers brush over the bandages and I flinch at the touch.

She pulls her hand away, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Yeah sure, Princess." I say, trying to get back to the snarky demeanor I usually have around her. It's better than whatever _this_ is.

"Just be ready to leave by tomorrow morning okay? I'll find you then."

"Okay fine, I'll be ready."

"Good."

She then walks away and I finally get into the stables. What is her deal? More importantly, what's my deal?

"Hey 'Pona."

My eyes meet my horse's.

I walk over to her and stroke her face. I wish I could take her out for a ride but I doubt Dohean or my troop leader would let that fly. I'm pretty sure I'm banned from leaving, even for a ride around the field. They all think I'm gonna desert again. While they have a good reason to think that, it still annoying be stuck here.

Well, tomorrow I'll be out and about. That still feels like some big joke. How did the princess convince Dohean of all people to let me go? Even if I was a hero I doubt he believes that based on my performance. My gaze drops to my bandage, still exposed to the world. Yep, he definitely thinks I'm incompetent. I don't blame him, at this point I could trick myself into thinking my adventures were just dreams created in the dark crevices of my brain. At least that last journey. But sadly, no, it was all real.

"Wish I could take you on a ride." I murmur.

I see her eyes flash with recognition at the word, betraying her intelligence. Even though she's just a horse, she's smarter than any other I've seen. I can sense the longing for her to go for a ride. Maybe at this rate, I can convince those two to let me take her. But that might be pushing it.

I stay with my horse for a bit longer, but I need to start trying to pack a meager amount of supplies. It's annoying Zelda neglected to mention the specifics, such as I dunno... how long this trip'll be along with weather and whether the meeting requires formal dress or not. It'd be a fashion catastrophe if I, say, showed up in a dirty, stained, not to mention torn tunic along with trousers and worn boots? That's about the best I have. Oh, nd that ragged hat.

Oh bother. That'll be a shame.


	10. A real rag-tag adventurin’ crew!

"Wake up!"

I startle awake as I hear the yell shatter the silence of sleep and feel myself being shook with force.

I'm groggy and it takes a few seconds to focus on the face right up against mine. Wait. What?!

I yelp in surprise and scramble away from her face until my bare back is pressed against the canvas wall of the tent. I'm trapped.

"Why are you in my tent?!" I hiss at her incredulously through ragged breaths, my heart pounding in my chest. It was a rude awakening regardless but the fact that it's the always lovely Zelda just makes it exponentially more horrible.

She deadpans me. "... did you forget?"

I gulp nervously, already feeling sweat perspire on my forehead. Geez... she's scaring me.

"Uh... lemme think." I stall, racking my brain.

_You cucco-brained moron!_ I yell in my head. I'm still half-asleep and already running on empty with a shot of adrenaline. My mind is as slow as those iron boots.

"You idiot! C'mon! We've got to go!" She grabs my hand and violently tugs me up. It's a jolt that I lose my balance slightly and almost fall on top of her, feeling her face press into my chest as I try my best not to crush her. Well this is awkward.

"You're still half-asleep... aren't you?" She grumbles, gripping my shoulders to help steady me while I regain my balance. The princess' hands are so clenched that her nails are digging into my skin in what seems to be an attempt to draw blood. This is mortifying.

"I'm fine. Get your hands off me."

She does as I say and then crosses her arms at me. Guess I've already ticked off one person today. Dohean'll be second.

"Just get ready and be out in five minutes or else I'm coming in and dragging you out. You hear me fairy boy?" There is not even an ounce of diplomacy in her voice, just raw and unbidden anger. She practically throws the words right at my face.

"Yes, your Majesty, although I do not especially enjoy your morbid threats and bossy demeanor." I even bow for extra measure and give my best charming smile, which makes her look even more ready to kill me. Ah, the sacrifices I partake in to make pleasant conversation. I'm kidding, screw that. I'm just messing with her. 

She doesn't even give me a response and storms out of the tent in a huff, the canvas flaps swaying severely from the fervor in her departure. Sheesh. Someone's in a bad mood today.

I get dressed without any further complications- I don't want to anger the princess too much... I'll be spending the next day or more with her and I really don't want a knife in my back. There's a clean- and new- tunic lying on the floor (real classy guys) along with the rest of my ensemble, with shoulder guards and gauntlets included!

Zelda's waiting for me when I make it over to her. It's a lot earlier than I'd expected last night, the sun is barely peeking out from over the high walls of the ranch, small pools of pale morning light dapple the field. I can already tell somehow that it'll be another hot one. Don't ask how I know. I just do.

"You ready to go now?"

"Let's go."

———

"Question. Why are we going towards the forest? Kakariko's that way." I point behind me, as the bridge leading up to the village shrinks further into the horizon.

Dohean doesn't even bother to turn his head as he replies, "It's a safety precaution. We'll use the portal to Goron City in the Lost Woods."

"Another question." He sighs out loud, "how do you know about that?" I thought I was the only person who really utilized those! Geez, the more you know I guess.

"The Zora and Goron leaders know about it along with of course the Kokiri and the Royal Family and by extension the Royal Army. They were put in place for fast and safe transport between the regions of Hyrule."

"Wow, that's an enthralling story. But wouldn't they... I dunno, get lost?"

Dohean doesn't respond and I take a deep breath and blow on my bangs to move them out of my eyes. There's four soldiers with us, two behind and two in front, the princess and General are ahead of me. And we're all walking. No horses. I guess this important meeting wasn't even enough to require horses. I was expecting something more glamorous but I guess taking a leisurely stroll to help plan an actual war is how we're doing this.

Now that I'm looking around, there are monsters in the field. They're in hordes, bumbling about and carrying crude weapons. They probably made them themselves. There's a group ahead comprised of moblins, lizalfos, and stalfos. While they may look formidable, I remember them being pretty easy. And that lizal from weeks ago... he was nothing. It was just his partner that got me busted up.

The others around me seem to tense as we near the monsters, trying to steer away from them as much as possible without bumping into the cliffside. I follow their lead and watch the horde from the corner of my eye. It might be about time to fight. I got to bring along a sword, for defense, and a crappy wooden shield. I guess it's better than nothing.

There's a loud snort and I see a moblin has noticed us, barreling down the hill with its spear poised at us, glinting in the sun. The four soldiers spring to life around me and I pull out my own sword. I see Dohean shove Zelda closer to the entrance to the forest, but there's a stubborn look on her face.

There's a whip of air near my face and I dodge just in time to avoid getting my ear cut off. It's a crooked red blade, held by a lizalfos.

"Say hi to your cousin for me." I say with a grin, squaring up against the stupid lizard man.

It's reptilian eyes flit around as it tries to focus, its tongue is flickering in and out of its half open mouth. Is this guy comatose or what?

I lunge at it quick enough to land a solid hit through its chest. The purple blood sprays out from the cut and it's mouth, staining it's white underside like a bruise. The thing jumps away from my and readies itself for an attack. I've already got my shield drawn in anticipation.

It leaps into the air towards me, sword drawn, when a blur rams into the lizalfos and the thing dies with a horrible screech.

What was that? I glance at the interceptor and see Zelda with a small knife in her hand.

"You stole my kill!"

"I want to help."

I snort, this may be a petty argument, but I'm not backing down from this.

"And you decided to help _me_ of all peo-"

"Watch out!"

I feel her yank on my shirt and I go stumbling forwards.

I'm about to yell at the princess when I glance over my shoulder and see the stalfos looming over me.

So she saved my life.

I feel my face redden, "I could've dodged on my own," I mutter, although even I can tell I'm bluffing. I don't know if because of this I'll somehow be indebted to her, but I'll pray to all three of those girls to prevent that. When I'm out of here I want to string attached. Except maybe Malon.

I spin on my heel to face the skeleton, shield in front of my body and sword extended out from my arm. It's just a game of waiting for it to strike and countering. Should be simple.

It's empty holes for eyes stare back at me, a quiet standoff.

"Do you... want me to help?" Zelda's still here. Behind me.

"Of course not."

"Sure."

I shake my head to try and ignore her presence behind me and focus wholly on my enemy.

As the seconds slide by the stalfos finally hits its sword at me. I hold my shield against the attack, feeling the impact as the blade embeds into the wood.

"Oh for the love of Nayru... why'd it have to be a metal shield?!"

The stalfos begins trying to tug it's sword out of the wood, but's it's stuck fast and doesn't seem to want to budge. Bummer. This is so embarrassing.

I see Zelda coming out from behind me and rush at the skeleton, stabbing her knife into its skull.

With the stalfos practically stuck to me (because it's too stupid to drop its sword) she makes quick work on it and the stalfos turns into dust and crumples to the ground. Around us lay the carnage of the monsters, splotches of the soil is soaked with blood.

"Let's keep going." I hear Dohean order the soldiers along with Zelda and I. Everyone seems for the most part unharmed, and we pick up the pace with a new fervor. There's more monsters out in the distance and we all want to be in the forest before they pick a fight with us.

There's no more incidents as we make it to the forest and through the hollowed out log that marks the entrance to Kokiri Forest.

I'm almost struck with a pang of home-sickness when I step back into the green of the landscape.

I never thought I'd miss this place that's well past being very green as much as I do, but I do. Being back in the forest of my childhood is accompanied with a feeling of loss. I've only been gone for a few weeks and yet this place seems only like a memory, something I've outgrown. Ever since I returned here years ago I've wanted to live in its depths in solitude. I knew I didn't belong with the kokiri anymore, since I am an adult, but I never did anyway. And now I've been pulled out of my home and my life and forced to play soldier. Forced to grow up and bear the burdens of the world.

I try to swallow the feeling down but it's heavy in my heart and aches.

"You okay?"

I look to my side and see Zelda's come over next to me. Her face is dappled in sunlight, making her eyes sparkle.

"Fine."

She doesn't even make a face, she just sighs and looks ahead. We're nearing the village now, and then we'll cut into the Lost Woods and go from there. The bridge squeaks and groans under the weight of all of us, but manages to hold up.

"Do you miss this?"

Her voice is soft but I hear it as the wooden houses come into view, among the trees and the forest life. Glowing yellow bugs fly through the air and the waterfall is flowing as peacefully as ever into the small river in the middle of the houses. And the kokiri are our and about too, staring at us with wide eyes and stopping where they stand.

I don't know how to answer her. She's the one who won't let me leave the army, she's holding me back, and yet... I know somehow that I can't go back. Not yet, at least. I've got to go to war, grow up and leave this place as it seems to the rest of Hyrule, a mysterious and whimsical land where children never grow up and lost souls become stalfos and skull kids. But I know better, it will always be home to me. I want to return to it.

"You know the answer to that." I say with the same quiet volume as her.

She has to know I do, I mean... I tried to sneak out for Din's sake. Didn't turn out well, but it was an attempt.

I see Zelda nod out of the corner of my eye. I see the children's faces lighting up as they recognize me, in a different getup than they're accustomed to. In that other time, they hadn't even recognized me. As a people who don't age, they aren't used to seeing someone they know as older.

"Link!"

A good number of them run over to me, with grins on their face. Some of them scrunch their faces up with confusion as they eye my soldier's uniform and my companions.

"What happened to your green tunic?" One of the Know-it-All brothers asks.

"And who are they?" Fado points at the others by my side, unnerved by the kokiris.

"Okay, first off, I'm a soldier now-" they immediately cut me off and start straight up laughing at me.

"A soldier?! Wahahaha! You could never beat me years ago at anything!" I see Mido stroll up, with the loudest laughter out of any of the others.

"You know Mido, we can wrestle right now, if you're so sure of yourself." I put a hand on a hip, have a stare-down with the lil' bugger. His laughter cuts off in an instant and his face flushes.

"Can't. I already planned to wrestle one of the know-it-alls."

"What?! When did that happen?!" They both shriek in disbelief and a dash of fear.

"We don't have time for this... okay, this is the princess, the General, and some soldiers like me," I point at everyone, "got that? Now we should get goin-"

"You're back."

"Oh hi Saria."

She came through the crowd and now stands at the front, a smile on her face and her ocarina clasped in her hands.

As I see it, her smile isn't jubilant and cheerful, it's a sad smile, happy and sad.

"You're not back to stay right?"

"I'm sorry..."

I know she cares about me a lot, and she's one of my only friends, I hate to see her upset.

"But don't worry, I won't be gone forever." I try to reassure her.

I can barely look at Zelda, it's her fault I'm not back home yet with my old life.

"Okay," I hear her sniffle slightly as her smile widens at the same time.

"Be safe."

"Thanks."

The kokiri watch in silence with their fairies floating above their heads as we climb up the vines and disappear through the tunnel. Laughter and voices resume as we leave, back to their games.

I can feel her eyes on me but I don't want to make eye contact. Seeing Saria sad has just reminded me again why I'm mad at the princess. Not only for sending me to NL, but for keeping me from the forest and turning me into a soldier for her cause. A pawn again. I never wanted to be used by her again, but I should've known better when I came to at Malon's house. Taking that ocarina to her was a mistake. It would've been better to just destroy that thing.

The only sounds around us are forest creatures, birds chirping and the scampering of animals on the ground. I end up at the head of the group, leading the others through the twists and turns. I try not to go too fast, but it's a breeze so I end up walking at a brisk pace, the others barely keeping up. The stone opening appears before me, the grey stark against the earthy browns and greens.

"Princesses first," I say and gesture my hands out towards the portal.

I see something flash in Zelda's dim eyes but she just walks into the portal, a flash of light emanating from the blank darkness.

I walk through next with the others, and I can feel the ground beneath me disappear and I fall through the darkness, my bangs whip into my face and I think I left my stomach awhile ago. The feeling of falling through nothingness is disorienting, but it's over in a flash, and my feet fall onto sweet, solid ground.

I'm slightly nauseous from being slammed like halfway across Hyrule, but I won't let myself puke. That would make the case stronger for me being a nobody, coward, non-hero guy.

I blink to help my eyes adjust to the dimmer light of the cavern, the loud booms replacing the ambience of the forest.

Now that we've made it all in one piece, I can begin to dread another pressing issue. The meeting.


	11. Unfashionably late

After an uncomfortable night of tossing and turning on a rock-hard "bed", yeah, I didn't sleep a wink, the meeting started bright and early the next morning.

I could already tell the meeting was going to be rough. At least, for me. I was sore from the less than stellar sleeping situation and my mind was a slow as those iron boots were. I'm honestly wondering if I'll be able to stay awake. I still am half-asleep as I trip my way down the stairs and into the meeting room, loopy and lethargic.

Everyone else was already seated around the table, and I feel their eyes burn holes into me as I walk in, blatantly late.

I just hold my tongue to fend off any snarky remarks and book it to my seat, which is unfortunately right next to Zelda. Goody.

She looks about well rested as I feel, which is to say not at all. Those circles under her eyes are still dark like bruises and there's a pallor to her skin. But there's a determined look to her, clenched upright in her chair, eyes widened slightly more than normal. She's definitely trying as hard as she can to stay awake. At least she's giving it effort. If I fall asleep I'll just let it happen.

As I sit down in an uncomfortable stone chair, I can already hear an argument, although it sounds far-away.

"Rushing right into capturing back the castle will only cost us more in terms of soldiers and supplies, we'll have to hold it off until victory can be easily attainable." The General says.

His opposition is Darunia, the stubbornest Goron there is.

"Wouldn't it just be better to launch a surprise attack and wipe the enemy out before it's too late?" Darunia's rocky voice is low but filled with passion.

"We wouldn't be able to hold off his forces. Not only does he have many skilled Gerudo, but monsters as well."

"Fine. But you won't be able to depend on the Gorons for that attack."

"What?!" I blurt out. Everyone turns to me, even the guards from their respective tribes. The diplomats and rulers catch me under their heavy gaze.

I stammer, "For real? I remember the Gorons being willing to help, and you were the King's Sworn Brother, were you not? Does that mean nothing to you anymore? Does security exceed loyalty?" My voice gains volume as I speak, and I see Darunia look at me with recognition and anger. Well, at least he remembers who I am.

"Link, wasn't it?" I nod, I shouldn't have been so insensitive,"It's been awhile since I've seen you kid, you've still got that mouth of yours. While I was and still am loyal to the Hylians, my people are my priority. I'm sorry but I cannot spare my warriors, they can't be relied on to help."

"Why not?" Now that I'm talking, I might as well wrestle this out of the guy.

He hesitates, "There's trouble in the Fire Temple. That must be dealt with first."

That place? I mean, sure, it was infested with fire keese, but geez... that's not a big threat or anything. The worst they qualified for were pests. Annoyances. Nuisances. But not a threat. And other than Volvagia, the dragon that doesn't exist in this time, there's nothing else that could even remotely be a Goron-major-problem-that-exceeds-a-goddess-darned-war. Somethings wrong, but I just let it go for now and don't pry. Angering Darunia is a bad idea any way you slice it. And this day has already been crummy.

"Can the Zoras aid support?" Dohean seems to have move on to bigger and better things, addressing the Princess Ruto- my former fiancée I guess- along with other Zoran diplomats. They all seem very snobby. The Zoras always had that air, one of grace but also of arrogance. They flaunted their swimming skills as if it was something unprecedented, but they swim as well as any fish to me. I just don't know what their deal is. That's one thing I guess I could be okay with about NL, the Zoras are cooler there. I mean, they had that band, after all.

Ruto apparently has come in her father's stead, although she isn't Queen yet or anything, because of an illness the King has been inflicted with. But I personally think he's just too lazy to come.

"We should be able to supply soldiers." says one of the diplomats, one with sharp cheekbones and an equally sharp expression.

"Yes, and we can supply blue fire and red ice from the Ice Cavern if need be." Ruto added, fiddling with the pin on her deep blue sash.

"Alright. How has Kakariko been since the invasion, any attacks?" Dohean turned his attention to Impa now, who was seated on Zelda's other side, with her stark grey hair and piercing red eyes.

"Nothing has gotten into the village yet, but there have been slight skirmishes near both entrances." Impa reports.

There's nods all around. Even I participate. Despite Kakariko's close proximity to the Castle, it's good news that there haven't been any attacks.

From there, the meeting continues onto supplies and attacks in the field and movement from Castle Town and Gerudo Desert, and it's really boring. I start tuning it out, examining my hands because there isn't really anything else to do. The voices drone on and on and it's hard to stay awake in such a dull environment. The stamp keeps me up though from fear of nightmares. It's still as obnoxious as always.

———

There's a tap on my shoulder and I jolt out of the half-asleep state I'd been in, bleary and dazed.

"Huh?"

There's two disappointed stares from my two favorite people and the princess throws in an extra gift when she kicks my leg underneath the table. I bite my tongue to hold back a yelp- those boots _bite_ \- but I still end up flinching. That's gonna leave a mark.

Dohean clears his throat loudly and looks me directly in the eyes, "The princess claims that you know much about the King of Thieves, so please be of use and enlighten us."

"Uhh... well, when I was about to battle him he was playing the organ while he was waiting... so... he might do that this ti-"

"The princess must've been wrong, he seems like a joke to me," says one of the snooty Zoran diplomats. The other diplomats nod their assent. Yup, the Indigo-go's are looking real nice right about now. Can we get Mikau over here? Oh wait. He's dead.

"You're free to leave if you don't have anything to offer, soldier." Dohean says in a deadpan voice, his eyes on the map strewn across the table, marked up with signs and writing.

For some reason, that rubs me the wrong way. His words and that Zora's mix together and I set my jaw, feeling stubborn.

"I'd like to stay."

He ignores me.

Next to me, I see Zelda open her mouth, like she wants to speak.

"The princess has something to say," Impa says her eyes on Zelda like mine are, and Zelda shoots her a look of embarrassment. Geez, is that what it takes for these guys to pay attention to their sovereign?

"I-i just wanted to help propose an idea..." She clears her throat, "While Kakariko has largely been spared from attacks, we should double the soldiers on duty as a precaution. As for recapturing the castle..."

"The soldiers already stationed there are already doing a good job, and while more would improve security, we can't spare too many of our force. As for your second proposal, there is no reason to discuss that at the moment, since it wouldn't be beneficial to begin an attack." Dohean cuts her off and her face falls, dropping her eyes to her lap.

The meeting wraps up not long after that, and it's around lunchtime. It feels good to be standing out of that chair, but I'm still sore.

Zelda and Impa stay behind as the others file out of the room. I don't know where to go, so I kinda hover near the door, watching as Impa tries to get Zelda to talk, but eventually she passes me out of the doorway, giving me a look. It's so similar to when I saw her in the Sacred Realm.

_"Protect the princess."_

Even now, it seems the Sheikah still wants me to care for Zelda.

I walk over to her, she's still hunched over in her chair, her long hair hides her face.

I don't know what to say. There's still tension as well as distance between us and I can't tell where we stand now. But I might as well do what Impa says, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

"Heh, guess they don't listen to you either huh?" I stop myself before I can call her princess again. As much as I enjoy irritating Zelda with her title, this isn't the time for comedy... unfortunately.

I hear a sniffle from behind that blonde wall of hair and a quick reply, "Shut up."

I sigh and sit down in the chair next to her, which my butt doesn't appreciate by the way.

"Okay, first things first, we get this mop of hair out of your face."

I reach my hand out and tuck a large strand of hair behind her ear. It feels so weird, I can see her stiffen too, confused.

The princess is trying to keep it together. Her lips are pressed into a thin line, but her eyes are watery and red. She's upset.

"Hey, it's okay, they'll listen to you one day right? And besides, Dohean doesn't like anybody from what I've seen." It feels weird to be actually nice to her for once, but hey, she isn't feeling good right now so I won't give her that hard of a time.

"But I'm still a joke to the others. I'm not even technically Queen."

"I can start calling you queen instead of princess if you prefer. Also, I believe that Zora called me a joke, not you."

"Shut up." I can tell she's trying not to smile, her eyes still filled with tears, "And I guess it's true, you are a joke, fairy boy."

"Okay, I get that you're having a crappy day, but you don't get to take it out on me! I don't care if you're queen or whatever... for Nayru's sake, I don't!"

I see her crack a grin, sniffling again as she wipes her eyes dry.

"Okay, now get out of here. That's an order."

"Yes m'lady."

"It's your Majesty actually..."

"Okay, princess."

"Leave!" I actually got a giggle out of her with that one.

I turn to the doorway, winking at her before I head out into the noise and chaos of Goron City.

———

I still cannot sleep for the life of me.

The bed is too dang hard. It's solid stone, for Din's sake, which may be perfectly fine for your average Goron, but I think I'd rather sleep on the patchy Hyrule Field grass and take my chances with the monsters out there than here on this rock-hard lame excuse for a bed.

Eventually, I get up and start wandering around the city, I'd rather do that than let myself get more stiff and sore lying down.

The multi-level cavern is completely empty save myself, and it's almost completely dark, the braziers are dim and many just have embers remaining in them. I'm about to make another lap around the middle level when I hear footsteps above me. Footsteps. Not loud ones like the Gorons, mind you, and definitely not a roll, but a Hylian. My curiosity is piqued and I find myself creeping up the nearest stairway to catch who it is. The shadowy figure doesn't look suspicious, they aren't sneaking around, nothing seems amiss here.

As the Hylian nears the open doorway to the trail down the mountain, the moonlight lightens up the figure so I can make out who it is.

Sheik? And therefore Zelda? What's she up to?

As Zelda is about to walk out the opening into the night, she rests a hand on the wall and scans her right and left before taking off into a jog, light and agile in the Sheikah uniform.

As softly and as quickly as I can, I follow after her, staying in the shadows as she practically flies down the steep path, hopping up on the rocky ledges and doing all sorts of flips. She must've been busy while I was living out the worst three days in my life and afterwards. Color me impressed.

While she looks like those flare dancers from the Fire Temple, I resemble a lil' Deku Scrub by comparison, not very fast or skilled at running but trying my best for being exhausted beyond my mind.

The buildings of Kakariko come into more detail as I near the village, seeing the yellow glow of lights in some of the houses.

While it's grown some since I've seen it last, it's still a small and quiet town nestled beneath Death Mountain. There's another new addition too, soldiers. They patrol the small streets or stand at their posts, spears at their sides.

Sheik gracefully makes her way up onto a fence and then hops roof to roof until she lands up at Impa's house overlooking the village. Seems like overkill to me, there's nothing wrong with walking on the ground and to the stairs like a normal person.

I know I have the hookshot with me, but I'm starting to have trust issues since the last time I used the bugger I ended up back in bed.

The lights on Impa's house are of course on, and when I peek through the window I see her at the table studying a map and drinking what appears to be tea.

There's still that cage behind her with the cow in it, I always felt bad for that guy, and as I look I see Sheik appear next to the cow and slip through the bars with ease. So this is why she came here... honestly I should have suspected it. Impa's the only Sheikah in her life, so if Zelda wanted to train she'd have to come here.

Zelda sneaks over to Impa and looks ready to attack the Sheikah, who doesn't seem to notice. As she's about to attack I see Impa grab her wrist without even looking up.

If she can catch Zelda, who's had some training in stealth, I should get out of here before she finds me too.

A part of me likes that Zelda has still pursued her training even in this time, and I don't even know why. I guess it's because there's still a connection to what was, proving it did really happen, as crazy as that sounds. Only a few of us know.

What are Zelda and I now? Not enemies, but definitely not friends. I'm still wanting to keep her at arms length though. She hasn't failed in using me yet again the moment I returned. There's no forgetting- or forgiving- for what she did.

I don't want to be a pawn.

And yet, as I troop back up to Goron City, I can't help but feel guilty about how I've been treating her. Why? She deserves it. Or is my anger unreasonable?

... I'm going for the former.


	12. Picking fights

It's been about a week since we got back from Goron City, and I fell back into the routine I'd had before. Zelda's shut back in her room again and I've started spending more time training with others, like Edmund. Malon sometimes comes to watch- and judge us.

Now that I'm actually sleeping again, the nightmares are back, but I just try to forget. They aren't that bad.

I'm messing around with a bow right now, trying to remember the feel of it. I hunted some while I was in the woods, but these bows are a lot bigger since they're made for combat, not just hunting game. The bowstring's a lot harder to pull back then I'm used to, so it takes more effort to make it taut.

I don't even know why I'm practicing my archery, I'm one of the expendable soldiers, sent in to die with only a sword and shield to my name. Just one of the pawns. As cynical as that sounds, it's the truth.

So far, I've only made one bullseye and that seemed like a miracle within itself. Most of the arrows are scattered on the ground in front of the target in a messy pile, some have their arrow heads buried in the dirt. Most are parallel to the ground through.

I try a few more but then call it quits. I've had enough for today.

I toss the bow onto the grass and walk over to the bullseye to pick up the arrows. It's a little past noon, and the day's been largely uneventful. I expected there to be a flurry of activity after I returned from the war consul, but there's been no stir from the routine, it even seems more relaxed than before. I guess that comes with planning, the concerns and stress are ironed out from the consul, but there were still a lot of loose ends that didn't get resolved in Goron City. There isn't a solid plan at all. Sure the end goal has been acknowledged, but the path to regaining control over the Castle and exterminating Ganondorf's forces isn't just unclear, it's unknown. May even be nonexistent from what I've seen of it. After the original panic wore out of the Hylian people, they seem to have settled into this new crowded, chaotic life. Is that complacency? There doesn't seem to be that visible drive anymore, that want to regain what was taken from them. It seems they've settled into this new life of theirs. I just want to leave, and if that means I'll have to fight Ganondorf again and almost die, then I'll do it. I guess that's one heroic part of me, I'm called to action, I don't want to sit here and grow weak and wait for evil to come and smite us, I want to do something. Except while the other Link had noble and honorable motives for serving justice to that giant green man, this Link is just looking for a chance to slither away back into a life away from others. My reasoning now just seems selfish.

I drop the arrows into the quiver and do my best to clean the clumps of dirt off the few arrowheads that got embedded in the ground.

"Hey,"

I hear a rumble of conversation begin from behind me and look to see Edmund, who's come from the newly formed ruckus.

"What's that all about?"

"Oh, that?" He turns his head back at the group of people, formed in a circle around something, "Some of the soldiers decided to have a swordsmanship competition."

"So a brawl?"

"No. More like a duel. An affair of honor. A challenge. What have you."

"Okay, okay, I get it."

I notice him still standing there, waiting for something.

"What?"

"Do you wan-"

"Don't even say it, you know I'd just humiliate myself. And besides, would they even let someone of our rank join? It's probably just a fun brawl for the knights or something." I grin when I see his face flash with irritation when I say 'brawl'. So I like messing with people, sue me.

"Actually, the duel's open for anyone. It's just something to do instead of the boring, monotonous grind."

"Mmmkay... but still. No."

"Why not?"

I laugh, "Why not? You know why not."

He cracks a mischievous grin, "Well watching you make a fool of yourself anywhere, especially in a fight of some kind, is very entertaining from what I've seen so far."

"Ugh. You're the worst."

"Thanks. Now c'mon!"

He roughly grabs my arm and starts dragging me over to the cluster of soldiers and other spectators in a circle around two guys, their blades spitting sparks as they clash together with metallic fanfare.

Other soldiers are yelling out bets and smack talk and tips, along with calling dibs on who goes next.

Out of nowhere, I hear Ed scream- which hurts since he's right next to me, "LINK SHOULD GO NEXT!"

He's gotta be kidding. He makes eye contact with me and I make sure my face is as incredulous and annoyed as I can muster. He grins wider and yells again. Yep, he's serious about this. I'm gonna kill him later. Well, if I could.

I see some of the crowd stir and face the two of us, laughing at the thought of the currently thrice-stabbed Link getting done in again. They know, I know I'll get stabbed again.

But these guys are starving for comedy, so they start pointing at me and adding to Ed's clamor.

I just keep my eyes ahead on the fight through the thick crowd, feeling my brows knot up as I get more irritated. I take deep breaths to try and calm myself down, but my nerves are already getting overloaded. One, because I'm annoyed that people want to see the failure that is me do the thing he's best at: failing, and nervous because I don't want to get beat up again.

The fight is a close one, the two soldiers seem evenly matched to me, but eventually the one with shaggy auburn hair manages to get the upper hand and drive his opponent to the ground, but it's a close call.

By now, the yells of my name have evolved into a sort of chant, and everyone's jeering at laughing. Geez, why are they making such a big deal about me? I'm literally a foot soldier.

I'm roughly shoved forward when a soldier calls for the next two people to face off. I stagger into the middle of the mess, scowling. I'm angry. Not nervous. Not scared. Just mad.

"Hey Mr.Hero! The princess seemed to think you were a hero, why don't you go against some of us?" That's one of the knights, he has an arrogant grin on his face.

I don't respond. I don't know what to say. Shellshocked, I just wait while he saunters into the middle of the ring. Someone hands us both swords and shields and I fumble to get my grip on both. My face is screwed up, trying to prepare for the butt-kickery I know is about to happen.

"Ready?" He asks.

I gulp and manage a nod.

Hylians aren't known for being tall, but I guess this guy is an exception because he towers over me. Clearly a born athlete, I can see his defined muscles even through his sleeves and pants. And his face, it's got this cold air of superiority- which I'm not denying- and irritation. He doesn't want me to be here. I get it. I don't want to be here either. But I guess I'm forced to be his punching bag. This whole thing feels weird.

I barely get time to react before he comes up on me, but I somehow land a jump to my right.

He almost falls over as he slams to a stop, but recovers quickly.

By now, I'm more ready, and our swords match in a spray of sparks. He presses his blade against mine, trying to get it out of the way so he can strike skin.

I let him nudge my blade out of the way and jump back. He catches a bit of my shoulder in the attack, but so far I'm stab-free.

The crowd is livid with yells and shouts. But so far, I haven't made a huge fool of myself. I'll see if it can last.

I strike out at him, and dodge his counter attack, managing a backflip, and land gingerly on my feet.

I stand in shock for a second, what in Farore's name was _that_?!

Is it possible that Zelda was right? That I still have my knowledge of swordsmanship locked up in my head, potential waiting to be unleashed? Instinct? I have no idea.

I snap out of it, but my opponent has gained an opening while I was distracted and manages to do the one thing I wanted to avoid. And now I've been stabbed for a fourth time. Why? At this point, I'd rather lose my head than get stabbed in the same point like a complete dweeb.

At least the crowd's entertained. Everyone and their mom seems to know my plight, and it's "hilarious".

I stagger back and don't even bother to clutch my wound, I just decide to ignore it. It still stings, as if the blade is still embedded in my flesh, but I'm staring right at it's tip, my blood drips onto the dirt between us.

Okay, it's now or never. Soon I'll lose too much blood, so this is my chance to get even and try to redeem myself. I'll even play dirty if I have to, I need one victory. I didn't even think I cared, but the resolve to win has come out of nowhere.

I dash at him, even as my body screams in protest, and hit the quickest slice I can, along his arm. Somehow, my blade finds flesh and there's a nice streak of blood, staining the edge of the sword crimson.

His eyes flash in anger and he lashes out at me. I pull another backflip out of nowhere, although it's more clumsy than the initial one. Beginner's luck I guess. I stagger back from the momentum of it and he catches me unawares. Another gash, this one's higher up, closer to my shoulder.

By now, I'm beginning to feel loopy and fatigued from the blood loss. The crowd is so loud, giving me a headache on top of my two stab wounds.

Guess wrapping it up isn't possible. But there's something I can do to get a victory without needing to have the superior skills. But, if getting under people's skin was a skill, I'd have it.

"Hey, come and get me!" I taunt, picking up my run speed and crisscrossing around him.

Being smaller than my opponent actually comes in handy here. I've got more agility, and I can duck under his sword and evade.

My muscles get back into the flow of evading, and I pull off more backflips and hops.

He looks so infuriated, it's hilarious. I pull my best snarky grin at him and he grinds his teeth in response.

"You really can't get me?"

"Just shut up before I kill you." The words hiss out as I continue hopping away from his sword, which is cleaving through the air in an almost psychotic fashion.

And I believe him.

But I don't stop, because all that'll get me is a sword through the chest or a slit throat. He's angry enough to go through with his word.

My energy, even though it's fueled by adrenaline, begins to ebb. I get a little more clumsy, feeling the intense ache of my wounds.

I dodge him once more and then dart through the crowd, zipping between the spectators.

I don't have a plan. I quickly scan my surroundings, and the best place to hide is a tree. Great. The tree is next to a roof though, so maybe I can make it up.

I've had experience climbing with trees, growing up and also living for years in a forest teaches you certain skills. Might not seem that useful, like climbing trees and looking for edible plants, but sometimes it ends up saving your life, like right now.

I drop my weapons and jump up to grab a branch, feeling the strain in my elbow. I cut off a gasp of pain and manage to pull myself up onto the tree. From there, I keep getting higher on the branches, looking for good footholds that will support my weight. Eventually, since the tree isn't very large, I run out of available branches.

The giant of a soldier has made it to the base of the tree, staring up at me.

"Hey!" I yell with a smug grin.

This is ridiculous. The crowd begins to circle the tree as he begins to climb after me.

While he's much stronger than me, he hasn't had a childhood of climbing trees, so he doesn't get far before he falls. I stifle a laugh.

The edge of the roof is a foot or so away from me, so I lean out over the leaves to reach it and hoist myself onto the shingles. I get a weird sense of déjà vu as I pull myself up to the middle of the roof. I'll just make sure to not fall this time. Now that I'm sitting down and somewhat out of harm's way, I realize how terrified I am right now, running on nothing but pure adrenaline. I think that's the only thing that's kept me up for this whole time. I finally notice the extent of the blood that's stained unceremoniously onto my tunic, sending it's metallic fumes right at my face. Dizziness creeps up on me and I grip the shingles with my hands.

———

I stay up there, even as I feel myself feel sicker. Even as the crowd eventually thins out completely.

My heart rate will not slow down, no matter how much I try to take deep and even breaths. I think I overdid it. Slightly.

There's a sense of absolute panic and terror that just won't go away, which gives me bad flashbacks to my constant paranoia while in NL.

Eventually, as the sun begins to dip under the horizon, I decide it seems safe. I sidle over to the edge of the roof and glance down. Nothing that seems like a threat. I turn myself towards the roof and inch my way back onto the tree branch. From there I practically slide down the tree, lightheaded from the sudden exertion.

"Tree boy's down." Says a voice, I can just tell there's a sneer along with it.

"You again? You're still hung up over this?" I don't even turn around.

"Just shut up. I don't even know why the princess wanted you to come here, Mr.Hero."

"Honestly, I don't know either. Wow! We have something in common. Can I go now?"

His answer is clearly a no when he grabs me by the scruff of tunic and I feel a fist pummel my back.

I try to fight back, but sitting on a roof losing blood and getting heat exhaustion has completely sapped my energy.

I feel him jerk my around and continue to beat me up. A fist jams into my cheek, and then my eye, and my forehead. What is it going to stop? Time's already lost all meaning and I don't realize I'm biting my tongue, making my mouth full with blood.

Hasn't he gotten his just desserts by now? I mean, he technically already won, I was just messing around. But he still has a vendetta to carry out against me. Geez, why is he wasting his time?

I just stand there and take it, my fight gone. As pathetic as it is, I give up, waiting for myself to go unconscious.

"Hey!"

I hear a thud along with a few shorter ones and then the feeling of dropping. (Yeah, I closed my eyes.)

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?"

I try to speak, but end up only choking on some of the bloodied saliva in my mouth, which I spit out.

"What do you think?" I answer weakly.

I crack open an eye, bringing on a popping of stars, and see Malon hunched over my busted up body.

"That you've had the literal crap beaten out of you."

"Yup."

She smiles and then returns to seriousness.

"Here, lemme help you up fairy boy."

I freeze. "Wait. What about..?"

"I took care of him."

She begins to pull my up, trying to be gentle, but she uses a lot of force, I end up wincing like a child.

I see what she means when I see his unconscious body lying in a heap next to me.

"What did you do?!"

"A roundhouse kick, among other things..." she says sweetly. Okay, so she's a killing machine. Good to know.

She acts as a crutch and goes slowly as I hobble over to the infirmary, my entire body aches.

The two other medics are fortunately not there, I don't want to see their annoyed faces right now. Malon tells me to lay down on the cot and I gladly do, feeling the cool linen through my clothes.

I fumble to take off my shirt and unbuckle my belts but I get those off and they go in a pile on the floor.

I start to daze out as she begins patching me up. I vaguely comprehend when she tells me to hold some ice up to a spot on my face, under my eye slightly. I focus on the coolness spreading through my seemingly broiling body.

The last thought I have before the darkness takes me is that I'm glad to have Malon as a friend. Especially because I don't want to get messed up like that guy.


	13. A rendezvous of some description

I catch her the next day late in the afternoon when she's just finishing up her farm chores.

Because of my various injuries, I have the day off to recover. I already spent most of the day dozing on and off in the infirmary, but as the sun began to set, I pulled myself off the cot and decided to go look for her.

"Hey."

She's still got a few pieces of hay in her hair from tending to the horses, and she has a worn out expression.

"Oh. Hi." Malon says, still lost in her thoughts. She snaps out of it and crosses her arms. "Shouldn't you be resting? It's your day off and no offense, but you still look horrible." Malon scolds in a bossy voice.

I feel horrible too, but I wanted to get a chance to ask her something I was thinking about before I fell asleep.

"Yeah, duly noted. Uhhh..." I scratch the back of my head nervously, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.

"What is it?" She deadpans, I guess she isn't in the mood for my usual shenanigans today. Might as well cut to the chase.

"Do you... uh geez... do you think we could get Epona out of this cuccoo pen tonight and go for a ride?"

I see her eyes widen and she seems to snap awake.

"You and... me? Tonight? What? What're you going on about fairy boy? Maybe you should go lie down." Malon is incredulous, still with her arms crossed.

"I'm serious." I sigh, "C'mon, it'll be fun, okay?"

She pulls an irritated look, staring me down. Why does she have to be so scary sometimes?

Eventually, it gets to that point where I'm almost certain she's just going to give me the cold shoulder and walk away. But she doesn't. Instead, she sighs and nods her head.

"Fine."

"For real?" I can't hold back my grin.

"Yeah. Now go try and take a nap okay?"

"Alright, fine. See you later."

"See you."

I trudge back over to the infirmary and lie down in the cot, still giddy at the fact that I managed to get her to say yes. What were the odds of that? From what I've seen, Malon's really stubborn, and yet I got her to go.

I try to sleep like she told me, but I'm unable to actually doze off, although I fade in and out of a shallow sleep-like state. I'm still in disbelief. How did I land a nighttime ride with her? Sheer luck, that's how. I don't even think Edmund would believe me if I told him.But... I'm not telling. Since Malon and I will be sneaking out, I think it's better to keep our plans on the down low. We wouldn't want word to get around and get caught. Especially by Zelda. She's the one who's actually adamant about me remaining here in the first place, so she'd definitely spoil the fun.

———

I have a bad feeling I'm being stood up.

I've done exactly as she said, rest, and it's already well into the night. I even made myself an ice pack with the materials lying around to help with the swelling on my face.

That guy- still don't know his name- busted me up bad. I've got a black eye and a swollen cheek and a tooth is crooked now, might be chipped too. Not to mention all the bruises on my back and my arms. And the stab wounds. I think it'd be safe to say I'd die happy if I never have to see him again, but it's close quarters here, so the chances are pretty high I'll have to see him again. That won't be a problem, as long as he leaves me along like the lowly infantry soldier I am, and I won't bug him. Mutual ignorance. Fine by me. Actually... appreciated by me. I regret ever taunting him. That was a one time thing, don't think I'll be hopping around and doing flips for awhile.

As I sit up in the cot, surrounded by darkness, my mind drifts back to that other ranch, my eyes droop to the stamp on my hands, drawing me back into that land of tragedy.

_They look exactly like Malon, except they're not like her at all. There may be touches of her in their personalities, but there's a lot that isn't similar._

_Romani is into archery, I remember. And Cremia is certainly more responsible than Malon- I'm kidding of course... Malon practically does all the chores around the ranch along with helping out with the war. As much as I like Talon, he an absolute bum of a father, so Malon practically has no choice but to stay on top of the work._

_One thing that was very different however, were the aliens._

_The ranch appears in my head and it feels so real, like all these do._

_I see Tatl's bright yellow body flittering by my head, acting as a light source._

_I'm in front of the barn where the cows are, and even though nothing seems amiss yet, all the cows are eerily silent._

_I tighten my grip on my bow, wiping my sweaty palms on my tunic the best I can._

_I've already failed protecting the cows once, and I can't bear to leave Romani to be abducted again. Those empty, almost soulless eyes haunt me and my resolve hardens. I won't have to see that again._

_It's almost time for the aliens to appear from that glowing orb in he sky, and I'm wide awake with fear and adrenaline, poised on my toes with an arrow already fitted on the arrow._

_There's a flash of light up about and the giant, glowing yellow ball materializes out of thin air. The thing glows brighter and with a lens flare, the aliens appear._

_I set my jaw, ignoring the palpitations of my heart. It's go time._

_Last time I messed up because I didn't guard the barn well enough, I went out too far and one slipped by my surveillance and got the cows. I won't make that mistake again. I keep a tight circle around the barn, always scanning around for their glowing eyes and their odd hoof-shaped hands. Their eyes glow like spotlights, flooding two circles in front of them with light. Every alien I see, I shoot at. I can get some with only one arrow, but my hands are shaking so bad that I take longer on shooting that I should, and end up missing._

_When my arrow supply begins to deplete, I get some more that Romani left out for me. It's a good thing I have the bunny hood, since I hate leaving aliens so close to the ranch while I stock up._

_Time seems to slow down, although I haven't played the inverted song of time, and I get so stuck in the routine and terror of the moment that I don't realize when the aliens are all gone._

_My legs feel as wobbly as jelly and there's a panicky ache in my chest._

_The door to the barn opens, and I'm so lost in the paranoia I almost shoot an arrow right between Romani's eyes._

_Her eyes widen, and I lower my bow immediately._

_"Sorry," I mumble, "please say they're all gone."_

_She smiles wide, instantly over me pointing a bow at her._

_"They're all gone Grasshopper! We did it!"_

_I manage a smile, but I know it doesn't go to my eyes. The relief doesn't fully set in and I still have a paranoid feeling that this isn't the end. That's ridiculous. They're vanquished, in this cycle, that is._

_"Yeah," my voice feels wooden._

_"Romani's gonna go to sleep now, I don't want Cremia to be mad. Goodnight, little hero."_

_She gives me one more smile and then skips to her house._

_The door closes behind her and Tatl and I are all alone outside in the field, now shrouded in darkness. I need to get out of here._

———

"You okay?"

I stare up from my hand, snapping my head up to see Malon, with a cloak over her shoulders to fend off the chill.

It takes me a few seconds to reply, letting the panic I felt sink back down.

"I'm fine, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, why else would I be wearing this?"

With a grin, she flips the hood over her head.

I stand up and follow her out into the night. There's still some soldiers on patrol, but they don't pay attention as Malon slides open the larger double doors on the side facing the field. There's a few lanterns hanging to the set of wooden supports in the middle of the room, providing light.

I watch as Malon goes over to a pile of hay in the corner and picks up a bundled cloak. She holds it out to me.

"Here, I got one for you too."

"There's hay all of it." I point out, taking it from her outstretched hand. It's a grayish-brown color and seems sturdy and warm. There's pieces of hay that cling to the material, and I begin picking them off.

"Your welcome." Is her reply.

She helps me pick the hay off and then I clasp it around my neck.

"Just let me get Epona ready," she says.

I lean against one of the supports and I don't know why, but I start whistling that song she taught me a long time ago.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see she's cracked a grin. Under her breath, I can barely make out her humming softly along with me as she puts on Epona's bridle and saddle.

"Here, she's your horse technically," Malon walks Epona out of her stall and hands the reins to me.

"I mean... I gave her back to you though..." I stammer, hoping my fave isn't too red.

Malon laughs, "That didn't matter to Epona, she still likes you best."

I lead Epona out the door and see how at ease she looks, her ears are twitching gently and when she blinks it's relaxed.

The cloak comes in handy against the wind that sliced through the silent and still field. Although not as extreme as in the desert, it definitely is a lot cooler at night than during the day.

Remembering that this could technically be referred to as a "date", I help Malon onto Epona, it's really awkward because I have to hold onto her waist while I lift her up. But I'm trying to be nice. She isn't a super tall horse or anything, but it still takes some doing from what I remember.

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

Her face is turning the color of her hair and her angry act crumbles as I pull myself onto the saddle in front of her.

I don't respond and get the reins into my hands, trying to get a feel for horseback riding again. I used to be so good I could bareback Epona, which took a lot more effort than with a saddle, but I managed that just fine.

I nudge Epona's side with my foot, and she starts trotting toward the exit.

"Don't go that way, are you an idiot?"

She grabs the reins from my hands, peeking her head up over my shoulder to see and holding her arms out around my body. Malon starts maneuvering Epona towards the tall fence at the other end of the property.

"We'll get caught if we go that way."

"Good point. I can take it from here,"

I take them back in my hands and keep leading Epona to the fence. I can't believe I forgot about this. Sometimes I swear... I'm such an idiot.

It takes a few minutes to find a clear area we can use to gain speed, but I find a large patch of empty space near the back.

I press my feet into Epona's sides and snap the reins. She takes off at a gallop and I can feel Malon wrap her arms around me to get ready for the jump. My bangs go into my eyes as we speed towards the fence, and it almost looks as if we're about to crash right into it, but I know better.

Just before we crash into the fence and jack me up even more, I feel Epona jump above the fence, sending us flying into the field. There's that sensation of falling, and I feel Malon pressed against my back, staring out as the field appears larger before us. It's dark and looming, but it isn't ominous, it's almost soothing in a way.

Epona lands and ends up rearing back on her hind legs. I give her a pat. She's still got it in her.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere."

I take off in the direction of the Lake, keeping an eye out for any monster gangs. There's some distant silhouettes, but no immediate threats. It'd be best to ignore them than go out of my way to pick a fight, so I steer clear of any I see.

The night is serene, and I find myself relaxing. The wind cleaves through the open air, rustling the grass. Other than that, and the occasional hoot of an owl, all is quiet. The air is sweet and cool, and I reminisce about nights spent riding with Epona, not for any purpose.

I turn before we get to Lake Hylia, it'd be best to stay in the field, at least for tonight.

"You know... at first I thought this would be a joke or something. But it's really nice out here." She says it quieter than she usually is, and I feel her hair brush the nape of my neck, just above my collar.

"Oh, it was nothing."

I don't know if it's because it's late, or because I'm still in disbelief that she actually came, but I want to kiss her. Why does that make me feel so awkward?

It's a bit of a first though, there's been only one other person that I've felt similarly for. But I really don't want to think about her right now. Malon's a lot more outgoing than her, and more feisty... but actually... no. Never mind.

I guess I'll try to do it when we get back. That would be the least awkward, and then I'll be able to have time to die of embarrassment by myself in my tent. Good plan.

I do two more laps from the entrance to the ranch all the way to the Lake and back. I don't even want to go near Gerudo Valley or Castle Town. That'd be more than risking it. More like delivering yourself to die.

Afterwards, I head back over to the ranch, slowing Epona down to a trot.

Might as well not look suspicious, the guards will see us no matter what, and running in makes us seem more like robbers and less like normal Hylians who belong at the Ranch. Well, they can't not let us in, Malon practically owns the place. It'll be fine.

They also seem to be expecting our arrival when I steer Epona up the hill, and begin taking her towards the stables.

The soldiers on watch don't even say anything, they just shoot me annoyed looks.

Together, Malon and I get Epona's gear off and she goes back in her stall.

"Goodnight 'Pona." I pat her nose.

Okay, this is it. Now or never. I'm dissolving into a mess of nerves, but I'm gonna do it. I can do it.

Malon's heading towards her house, her hair blowing the wind behind her.

I bite my lip, reaching for her hand.

She spins around, with a confused look on her face.

_Just do it already, you coward!_

I ignore every doubt in my head and lean in to kiss her.

I'm already mentally prepared to be slapped for my advances, and yet there's none of that.

It's really quick, but not once is there a slap or her pulling away.

She looks at me and I can't place a finger on her emotion, it has traces of disbelief, surprise, annoyance, anger, and something else too. A part of her that maybe even liked it.

"I've... gotta go." I manage to get out, going as fast as I can while still technically walking. Why is my heart beating so fast right now?

Oh for Farore's sake... I have a bad feeling sleep won't be easy tonight.


	14. Strings attached

Although it isn't official... I think we can both mutually agree that we're dating in some form or fashion.

Things don't change too much in the next few weeks, we already spent time together often anyway, but it seems more meaningful now that we have a deeper bond. And, another plus, she's being a tad bit nicer to me.

———

I've thought up and successfully executed other escapades since our first one, but I think I like this one the most by far.

We managed to negotiate our way out of the Ranch- which meant Malon used threats and her position as being one of the ranch owners to get them to let us out- and we rode to Lake Hylia.

It's around noon, and on the way out I was able to sneak some food into a sack and bring it with us.

It's a nice day, hot but breezy. I had to deal with some monsters on the way, ones that were patrolling around near the lake, but it's surprisingly sparse. There were definitely more monsters out when I went to the war consul with Zelda. It's almost unsettling in a way, but I just ignore that irrational worry. All that matters is that they aren't here.

But my sword skills have been improving, those guys are even easier to beat than before. Not trying to hurry up and jump to conclusions, but I feel closer to that heroic version of myself than I was before. Maybe Zelda was right after all, I've still got parts of him within me. I don't know.

———

We just got to the lake, and even though it's hot... I admit it, it's a beautiful day. It's so pretty it almost seems artificial.

The sky's a clear and bright blue, and the minimal clouds in the sky have that fluffy quality to them, white and soft. I see some purple specks up against the blue, guays. Those buggers have always annoyed me, they're practically natives of the lake and there seems to be an endless population of them two. Not a threat, just nuisances. If any of them have the nerve to come over here and swoop at us, they won't live for long.

The lake it shimmering under the sun, surprisingly clear. I can even see the Water Temple all the way near the entrance to the Lake. Isn't that just great?But in all seriousness, that place wasn't too bad, I think Ruto's and my "engagement" was the worst part.

"Here, give me the sack."

I hand it to her, and she starts looking through it. I packed as much as I thought wouldn't be noticed. A few apples, a loaf of bread, but not much of anything else.

"Sorry, I didn't want to bring too much," I say with a nervous laugh.

"I can tell," she says testily.

"Geez, cut me some slack okay?"

I'm almost annoyed by her response. I was trying to be cautious okay? And I didn't want to steal too much food from my fellow soldiers, because as much as I may dislike most of them, I know how hungry you can get training at that ranch. I know that somehow Zelda wouldn't have given me a hard time about this.

Oh geez! Why am I thinking about her? Ever since Malon and I started "dating" I haven't even seen Zelda, and yet my mind always seems to drift to her.

Why?

Last time I checked, I barely tolerated her. With her cold sapphire eyes and her expectations of me. How I'm a hero and how I should be nice to her. Like I used to be. She's so caught up in who I used to be.

I haven't seen her lately, and honestly I'm relieved. I wouldn't want her to see Malon with me. I don't know why.

"Hey you okay? I didn't mean to make you feel bad fairy boy."

I snap out of my thoughts, realizing I've been stuck in my head thinking about _Zelda_ of all things.

"Oh. I'm fine. It's okay, don't worry about it," I wave it off with a weak smile.

Malon frowns at me, her eyes big and blue, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, calm down," my smile broadens.

"So, why'd we come here?" She asks before biting into an apple.

"I dunno, I just thought it'd be nice. It's a pretty day."

"Yeah, I mean it's okay..."

"Okay? This is the best day we've had in awhile and you know that."

Malon laughs, taking a break from her apple so she doesn't choke again. Instead she adjusts the bandana she tied on her head, which keeps her fiery hair out of her face. In the sun, her hair gains a lot of orangey-yellow tints, like candlelight.

"I was kidding fairy boy, it's a nice day."

"Very funny,"

"Oh shut up."

I grin at her, and she smiles back at me, her cheeks pink against her freckles.

I dig an apple out of the sack and take a bite. It's crisp and so full of flavor that the juice dribbles onto my chin. Geez, this is embarrassing. I don't think licking it off or wiping it on my sleeve would look good, so I just let it stay. And that looks gross too. I don't want Malon to think I'm messy. She's technically my girlfriend now. We never talked about it, but I think that's where our relationship is now. It's been a nice change, I haven't seen Zelda at all, and I don't need to. I never needed to.

While I eat a few more bits of my apple, I decide to ask the embarrassing question of what our relationship is. It would be good if we're on the same page. It'd be awkward if I was the only one.

I just decide to blurt it out before I act like a cuccoo, "What do you think this is?"

I see her face meld into confusion, she raises a brow.

"Huh?"

"I mean..." I can feel my face get hot, and there's no doubt that it's red right now, "what I was trying to say was..."

"Just spit out. It can't be that bad." Her gaze turns suspicious.

"What are we? What is this relationship? Are we just friends or what?" I spit out, saying it more angrily than I'd meant. I'm blaming my nerves.

It's almost as if I can see the gears turning in her head as Malon takes in my words. I already regret my tone of voice, I practically chucked the words right in her face.

There's a long pause, with her deep in thought, eyes lost in the lake beyond. I turn my gaze over to the lake too, seeing the island with the tree, still with no leaves, a grey-ish hue. There's octorocks in the water, waiting for the unlucky traveler to come over on the bridges connected the two islands to each other and the mainland. I guess Ganondorf didn't want to waste time getting a horde of octorocks. They're only found in regions with water anyway, and besides being fish out of water, they have no other use on land. They're strictly aquatic only. Of course, there was Big Octo, but that was one exception, and I don't even know what I'd consider Jabu-Jabu as a region. I don't even want to begin. That place sucked.

I turn my gaze back to Malon, still buzzing with anticipation for her reply. I didn't think I could get so worked up over something as trivial as this, but sometimes I just astound myself.

It's either a yes or a no, and yet she's still in consideration. Maybe she's trying to find a way to break the news to me. I wouldn't be surprised, of course.

"Fairy boy," I meet her eyes, "I don't know what this is either. But we can try to be more than friends if you wanted to."

I laugh, trying to act coy but somehow I know I look stupid.

Now I really should be done with her, if Malon is in a relationship with me. This is a push in the right direction. Soon there'll be no strings attached and after this war we'll go our merry ways and she can get back to her prim life at the castle, shut up in the castle like she's shut up in her room at the ranch.

"Okay, sounds good to me."

I'm really unromantic. Never been much for it anyway. Those two lovers back in Castletown made me dislike it, and their counterparts in NL only made it worse. Honey and Darling were exactly like the others I'd seen, but now they had names I knew. I don't want to go all "honey and darling" on anyone ever. It was excessive... to say the least.

I never understood it and I still don't think I do, the way they loved was so obsessive, they were each other's everything. But I don't see relationships like that. I've been a loner for most of my life, so I never really felt the bond and camaraderie. It isn't about being everything to someone. It's about facing the world together. I don't know... I don't really know much about love. I mean, I am the guy who accidentally got engaged to _Ruto_ of all people and I didn't even realize it until years later. That was a shocking reveal.

But this'll be much better than whatever that was. Good thing I haven't seen much of Ruto at all.

"Just good?"

I bite my lip, trying to think of a better word, "No... course not," I scoff, "it's great. Wonderful. Uhhh..."

"It's cute when you get nervous."

"Huh?"

Great. My face is all hot again.

She laughs.

"See? Cute." She pokes my cheek with a finger, which is cool compared to my face, which feels like it's burning up.

"I don't know if I'd call myself 'cute'..." I mutter, darting my eyes over to the side.

"Hmmm... that's a real shame fairy boy."

"Are you always going to call me that?"

Malon has a mischievous grin on her face, "Like it?"

Do I like it? I'm not actually a kokiri, but I was always "fairy boy" to Malon, ever since the first time I stepped out of the forest and into Hyrule. Zelda calls me it too, and it's not hard to see where she got the name from. I guess it'd be hard to forget quite literally the boy from her dreams, fairy and all. And my green clothes. That gave it away too. What's so odd about green? I swear I've seen other Hylians wearing green before.

"It's okay... farm girl." I make a grin of my own.

Malon breaks away from the banter, looking up at the sky.

"Hey fairy boy?" Her eyes are still fixated at the blue sky above.

"Yeah?"

"Shouldn't we be heading back? I don't want anyone to worry too much."

She's right. The sun is already beginning it's drop into the horizon, no longer center in the sky.

"Okay, c'mon."

I tie the sack back up and help her back onto Epona before getting on myself.

"Don't want Zelda to think I've gone AWOL or anything," I say, smirking at the thought. She hates when I leave.

I feel Malon tense behind me. My smile disappears.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Her voice is too clipped to be fine though, "It's just... this is like the fifth time you've mentioned the princess in the past week."

Oh. Have I done it that much? I'm not even thinking when I do it either, her name just slips out and waltzes into practically any topic.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

She's silent, upset at me. The silence is icy now.

I sigh and start Epona going, getting her up to a gallop so we can clear the hurdles in the way of the open field. I can sort out this later, I try to focus on getting us back.

Her anger at me doesn't make total sense, it's not like we were even officially dating when I brought the princess up. But I'll make amends to keep her out of conversation either way. Just for my sanity. And so Malon doesn't kill me or something. She destroyed that guy.

The field is just as silent and empty as before, even more so because my passenger is giving me the cold shoulder, and I begin to feel a pit of dread form in me. It's just odd, I can't even see any monster groups anymore. Maybe I'm just being paranoid... but I'll get us back to camp as quick as I can.

I guess I should've listened to my worry when I saw the empty fields earlier on our way to Lake Hylia, it served as a warning sign. But I'd ignored the red flags.

The entrance to the ranch is in chaos, with the General and the lovely princess herself dealing with the crowd. Soldiers- in armor I might add- aren't marching. They're running to Kakariko.

Something is very wrong here.

I whip Epona towards the crowd and pull on her reins to slow her down before we crash into the horde.

I see Zelda and Dohean's attention turn towards me for a split second. Dohean's face flashes with anger, and Zelda... she has an angry scowl on her face, but there's something else too. Hurt. I barely bear to look into her eyes. Those eyes that sent me into a whole new world of hurt. Why is that all I see?

There's no time to think and I can barely focus anyway from the shouts and clanks of armor and swords and Dohean snapping orders. Everything is mayhem. Ever since the castle was invaded, it seemed like the Royal military system has all but crumbled completely. They just need all the manpower they can get, that's why they drafted anything who could fight. All the intricacies are gone. I don't know how many soldiers lives were lost during the initial attack, but they seemed desperate for any help.

"Get off that horse and get going!" The General yells at me.

I don't even have any armor, just a sword, but he's so mad and worked I don't want to argue with him. I stay on Epona though, and he doesn't seem to notice, his attention centered back on getting the others into battle.

I turn my head to look at Malon, who's resolve to ignore me seems to crumble.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but can you get me some gear... please?" I'm itching to go, my adrenaline shooting into me.

I still have no idea what's going on and everything is happening so fast.

She nods and gets off Epona. Malon has to fight her way against the current of bodies to get inside, and then she's gone. She better be quick.

I feel her eyes on me again and I slowly meet her gaze. The hurt is still in her eyes, although the rest of her face is so serious it looks like a statue. Was it because I sneaked out again? Is that it? I don't have time to think about it, because Malon's back, with shoulder guards, gauntlets, and a shield in her arms.

She's on be verge of breathless, "I'm sorry... th-his was the best I could... find."

"Thanks."

Malon hands it up to me and I get it all on, working the buckles as fast as I can and slipping the gloves onto my hands. I fix the shield onto my back. The metal settles on me and I feel myself turn to stone too, the weight of the situation on my shoulders. Just like the old times.

I turn Epona in the direction of Kakariko, watching the stream of soldiers grow smaller as they near the bridge.

"Be safe."

I look down at Malon, worry is etched on her face.

I manage a sad smile, "I'll try," I whisper.

Before I can think, she grabs onto my tunic and pulls my face down to hers. It's so quick and yet so intense. I barely have time to recover, digging my feet into Epona's side, catapulting myself into the storm.


	15. Shut off

_ ~ Zelda ~ _

_Hours earlier_

After my return from the consul, I had shut myself back up in the guest room.

The meeting had made one thing clear, I wasn't taken seriously, still treated as a pesky child rather than the heir in my late father's stead.

And I still had to prove myself as competent.

In the weeks after returning from Goron City, I've worked on trying to lay out the groundwork further to lead to regaining Castletown, but it's hard because while the end goal is clear, the rest is unknown. War is unpredictable and yet calculated at the same time. While we can plan ourselves and our moves, we can't know what our enemy will do. It can be predicted, but we can always be taken by surprise.

The world was turn upside-down in an instant, nothing can be set in stone. Ensuring a victory is a gamble within itself, it's an indefinite guarantee.

We did our best to secure more soldiers with our allies, and while the Zoras promised troops, they haven't come yet. They're trying to play it safe, which is understandable. The Zoras have their own people to protect, I didn't expect them to give us much of their troops, and they didn't. It was a conservative amount, but fraction of their troops they'll dispatch for us will be for the good of Hyrule.

The Gorons on the other hand... I still have no idea why Darunia wouldn't provide some of his forces. From that other time, Darunia was stubborn, yes, but also has always been loyal to the King, along with having an almost vehement hatred towards Ganondorf and the Gerudos who pledged allegiance to him.

His behavior at the consul was so odd and almost off character for him. Something about it felt amiss, but I might just be overly suspicious. There very well may be trouble at the Fire Temple, but he was sparse on the details, they were practically nonexistent. But I never pried and I wouldn't want to now. And yet... I'm still thinking about it.

The late morning light streams through a half-curtained window, shedding light on the floor.

I'm exhausted, but I won't let myself sleep. There's something I'm missing... something that I can do. Since the consul, the General has kept me at arm's length, even more than normal. I guess ol' Dohean's still miffed about my premature plans. Well too bad for him. Even though that isn't the next step, I still see the big picture. The end goal's been in sight for me since the initial attack.

Similar to how Link's final showdown with Ganondorf and sealing him in the Sacred Realm was the endgame, I knew that all along. I knew it was all my mistake for it too. I'd told him to gather the stones and to play that song at the altar... and that's what led to Ganondorf gaining access to the Sacred Realm and therefore the Triforce in the first place. I was the one responsible for that.

I clench my hands into fists on the table, feeling my fingers slide on the polished wood. My nails dig into my palms, although they aren't even that long. In the anxiety that has been my life as of late, the habit to my nails has developed. I bit them to the quick when we first returned and I've been trying to grown them back since. But it's hard, I'm tempted to bite them right now, but sinking into nervous habits is the last thing I need. I need to act like a queen, calm and calculated. Lives are on the line, and from what I've heard from soldiers who witnessed the attack, we're outnumbered too.

_Take a break to cool your head_ , A voice in my head says, calmer than the rest of me. But it's right, I'm making myself go insane from this constant worry and stress. I have barely slept, and I'm running myself into the dirt with my unhealthy habits. I can't sleep at night, there's too much I have to think about.

I stand up from the table, noticing how fatigued I feel even from such a simple action. Dizziness takes over and I grip the edge of the tabletop for support as I steady myself.

I don't know what I should be doing, I've been shut off in my room most of the time, and I suppose I'm accustomed to this. It's my life now. That trip to the consul was a reprieve from it, but also a reality check, I know how they perceive me.

I decide to stay in the room, opening up the two windows and drawing back the curtains. More light floods onto the hardwood, and I can see the day outside. It's one of those gorgeous days that lasts only a fleeting moment. Barely a cloud in the sky. There's a nice breeze coming in, billowing the curtains up as I feel the cool wind on my face.

I've been in the same clothes for a few days too, since I don't have a reason to leave, and I forget to change. I go over to the chest at the foot of the bed. These weren't my clothes originally, a mix of clothes lent to me by Malon. The Lon Lon's have sacrificed so much already, opening up their home and their ranch for all of us. Even letting my borrow clothes. I dig through the stack until I pull out some trousers and a tunic that has pretty designs and seems nice and flowy. There's a pair of boots by the bed that I slip on too. Maybe a change of outfit would benefit me as well. A hot bath would do wonders, but I wouldn't want to bother my generous hosts anymore, so fresh air and clothes will have to do for now.

I return to the window and rest my arms on the sill, breathing in the fresh air and seeing the view beyond. This window looks out towards what is now the camp, as well as beyond. The horizon stretches out and disappears behind the tall fences around the property. As I stare out at Hyrule beyond, my mind drifts to nothing and I let myself rest in that reprieve.

A yell and a horse's whinny breaks me out of my newly-acquired serenity, and I peek my head out the window to see a man on a horse whizz by below me, yelling for the General. Dohean. My insides twist, the soldier and horse both look unwell, not only spooked by injured too, I see splotches of blood on him. Something is very wrong.

Before I can think things through, I throw the door to the guest room open and book it down the stairs and out of the house.

In the several seconds it took for me to rush down, I can already feel the blossoming chaos in the air, it's all around. In the expressions of onlookers, the thick crowd that's forming, even Dohean's mask has cracked, I can see the anxiety in his eyes.

"What's happened?" I ask amidst the mounting panic, barely heard over the tumultuous crowd.

I see the General's eyes slide past the soldier on horseback towards me. I take a deep breath to try and appear calm, and make my way closer into the chaos.

"What's happened?" I ask again once in the center near the spooked horse and his rider.

Dohean's gaze returns to the soldier, "Why don't you ask him?"

Slightly miffed, I ask the soldier. He seems to barely hear me, and I can see how strained the muscles in his neck and face are, fighting the agony he no doubt feels. While he's managed to not writhe in pain, I can see the spastic shakes in his arms. There's an unhealthy amount of blood soaking his uniform, and even though I know next to nothing on most first aid, I do know he needs to get bandaged immediately.

He takes a moment to say something, and when he does it's weak.

"Kak-kariko is-" he pauses, and he seems to have trouble concentrating, "it's... under attack."

My eyes widen. Under attack?! I don't know why I'm so shocked, anything can go wrong in an instant but the thought of Kakariko under attack is something that way beyond my comprehension. That was a naïve assumption, in war there's always the danger of attack, even in one of the most peaceful and quiet towns.

"Someone get him down from there." Dohean shouts back at the crowd, and a pair of soldiers make it through the people and help him off the horse. Another soldier comes and helps lead the horse away, it's eyes wide with fear and flitting from side to side. I can hear Dohean shout more orders, but I'm still in shock over what has happened.

I turn back to Dohean, watching as the crowd thins.

"Are we sending troops?"

"Of course we are. They're preparing to leave now."

"Can I come?"

I see his eyes narrow, sharp and metallic, like a sword.

"Didn't I already say no? It will always be a no, Zelda, I can't have the last of the Royal Family risk it all in a battle she shouldn't even be in. You know your place. You aren't a soldier."

It was a bad time to ask, he's already fed up as it is with this turn of events and my request has only worsened his mood.

"I'm sorry." I don't know what else to say, what can be said? I just want to prove my worth here, and yet there's no use of me except to preserve the Royal lineage. Even with my training in the fighting style of the Sheikah and my magic abilities, I still am useless to an army in a time of crisis.

The ringing of orders continues, and I do my best to stay out of the way. I just watch. Soldiers are in a hurry, strapping on armor and weapons before they take off out into Hyrule Field. Everything has dissolved into utter chaos. Before the war began, the military was intricate and extremely organized, but that has all gone out the window. All who could fight were immediately drafted, and this attack took everyone by surprise, there isn't time to march evenly in assigned groups and ranks. The person who came to warn us is on death's door and Kakariko could be down any second. I can't even imagine what our lives would become if they captured the last stronghold of Hylians in the land.

And Impa. She's the last Sheikah, and not only that, she's the closest thing I have to a mother. I know without a doubt she'd stay to defend her beloved town even if it ends in her death. There isn't anything else to consider. She would risk all for Kakariko. And I don't want that to happen, even though she is extremely trained in the Sheikah arts, hordes of monsters and Gerudo aren't always easy enemies.

And their forces are much larger than the Hylians, so it'll be overwhelming to our forces anyhow.

I wish I had the nerve to assert myself as queen and go to Kakariko and fight, but I do see the sense in Dohean's reasoning. I can't die yet. While my death would mark me as a martyr, I still want to be there to pick up the pieces if we ever do succeed, even if the chances seem so slim. I have an obligation to lead my people, not into battle as I may wish, but to reforge our kingdom. That is my duty. And it's no use arguing anyway, Dohean already sees me as nothing but a young and unprepared ruler, and causing an argument over a certainly rational reason wouldn't help my case. I'll be understanding.

The camp is clearing out, and I follow the General at a distance to the entrance to the ranch, watching the stream of soldiers running into the distance.

I look back into camp, and then forwards again. What's missing?

Wait. Link.

I haven't been keeping tabs on him at all, much less seen him since the trip. Where could he be? Did he really go AWOL at a time like this? He's stupid enough to do it, that's for sure.

Or did something bad happen to him?

Almost as if the goddesses were listening to my worries, I hear the clomping of hooves to my side, and through the stream of people still leaving for battle, he's back.

Unharmed and safe, on his horse and Malon behind him. Malon?

"Get off the horse and get going!" Dohean yells at Link, and I can almost feel the anger broil off him.

I watch him and yet he remains stubbornly on his horse. His hair is blown into his eyes, and his piercing blue eyes meet mine. In the anxiety of the moment, I can't help but feel upset that he was gone, oblivious to what was happening here. And there's something else, but I won't think of it now. Too much is at stake to worry about trivial things.

I watch Malon get off the horse and then go against the crowd and into the ranch, and then my eyes drift back to him. I keep my face calm, but I can almost feel a sob building in my throat. I do my best to ignore the throbs as I see his eyes, trying to look like the leader I so want to be.

Malon returns next to me, her arms loaded with equipment. I guess he asked her to fetch his gear then.

They put it on and then I watch as he begins to face Kakariko. Then she's pulling him down to her, and they kiss. The ache in my throat gains power again, and I fight to keep the mask on. It doesn't matter, he can do whatever he likes. I don't even see him anyway, why should it matter to me? It doesn't.

Then he's off, and I watch him disappear into the rest of the crowd.

_Please be safe. Don't do anything stupid, like die._

Even though we have our differences, I wouldn't want anything awful to happen to him. He's been through enough, even if he won't open up to me about what happened when he was gone. Link covers it up with a snarky attitude, but I know he isn't fine. I don't care what he says. That day he quite literally collapsed was enough to raise the red flags. But I never get a chance to ask, and he wouldn't want that. He doesn't want anything to do with me.

I just hope he'll be safe, that his inner hero that I know is in there somehow will awaken and he can regain his potential. Even if it happened in that other time, the memories are still clear in my head as I watched him fight.

And hey, it would be good if he avoided getting stabbed. But... I somehow don't believe he'll make it out unscathed.


	16. A battle of pawns

There's nothing to think about except making sure I don't run over people on Epona. I have my sword brandished by my side, and I can see corpses of monsters already in a small heap by the stone stairs up to Kakariko, nestled in the valley beneath Death Mountain.

It all happened so fast, the kiss, Zelda's eyes, the news of the attack, and yet everything still feels like it's accelerating. I'll have to shove all these thoughts fighting for attention in my head and focus on the task at hand.

There isn't time to think about those right now, I'm still charging into a battle I'm grossly unprepared for. I've barely been able to handle conflict in the past, and it was never as serious as this. This is a battle, it isn't some silly competition or fighting those bumbling monsters in the field.

I don't have the skills of a warrior. It should've been a red flag when the field was empty of the usual monsters on patrol around the place. In hindsight, I should've realized something was amiss. They were leaving to launch the attack, it all makes sense now, after the fact.

Ganondorf had already been planning for this attack then, and even to me- someone who doesn't understand war strategy- a move against Kakariko makes sense. Castletown was the largest concentration of Hylians, their first point in the plan, and Kakariko is the second and last concentrated town of Hylians. It's already clear that Ganondorf is targeting Hylians, if he's a power hungry as I remember, he'd want to dismantle the monarchy. He's certainly done that, although Zelda is still very much alive.

I grit my teeth as I near the bridge, there's no way I can get through this mess without clogging everything on my way across. I'll have to go around. Epona's always hated jumping over this river before, but she'll just have to do it this time.

"Okay girl, get ready."

I steer her away from the bridge and over the open river. The water is clear, even despite how fast and rough it is.

I know Epona won't like having to do this, but I know she's smart enough to understand the circumstances which constitute making her jump the river. And it's not like it isn't hard, she's had to jump farther before. For Din's sake, she jumped the fence back at the Ranch with no fuss or hesitation.

Epona jumps, and clears the jump easily. I never had any doubt. That horse...

The ground in front of the stairway is splattered with blood and corpses, and the stairway is likewise stained with blood. It's still wet too, there's a dull shine on the stairs slick with blood. I can feel my face harden further, I expected this to be as gritty as it is, as morbid, and yet all this blood just seems to be so much. So much blood.

I start to slip back into my past, but I can't afford to let myself go now. I grip the reins harder in an attempt to snap myself out of it. I can already feel my vision began to fade out, clenching the leather tighter. Even as I'm trying to be strong, I can feel the panic. It's a fear that sneaks up on me. It always sneaks up on me. Even in times of light, it still taints me in darkness. But I'm fine. I've moved on. This pain and this hurt are nothing to me. I should be over this. My past is long gone.

I manage to fend off the images and the memories, although I can tell I'm trembling in the saddle.

I'll feel better if I start moving, get my mind off it. That's what always helps.

With unsteady legs, I slide off Epona. They feel weak, and even with the weight of the war and Hyrule's survival once again forced onto my shoulders, I'm disconnected from it. Shook to the core. I was so close to slipping away again, I can feel the paranoia on the fringes of my mind.

_Get a grip on yourself Link._ I snarl in my head. This isn't time to get lost in my own unimportant memories.

Lives are on the line, and for the first time in years, I have to help. This sounds like a job for the old Link.

I make my way past the mutilated corpses of lizalfos and moblins, among other things. I even see two soldiers corpses, mangled beyond recognition. I wouldn't have known them anyway, but my throat tightens as I survey their bloody bodies riddled with gashes.

The blood makes that unpleasant squelch as I walk to the stairs. The dirt is saturated with blood, the earthy brown tinged a crimson red. I regret looking down, seeing the gore now splattered across my boots.

I push on though, even as the metallic stench works it's way into my nose and seems to clog up my head with the smell. Almost like Ikana, the entrance to Kakariko reeks of death. But Hyrule Field or Kakariko is a barren and dead wasteland. I guess this is what war can do to a place like this, a peaceful village caught in the middle of this power struggle. It's not even that, Ganondorf has the upper hand through and through. At this point, it seems more like a massacre. Sure, the Hylians are fighting against that fiend's forces, but it's to defend and protect what was theirs. What is now Zelda's, I suppose.

———

The stairs aren't much better, and it's definitely more slippery than the blood soaked dirt was. Even though I already thought Kakariko's stairway would benefit with a rail, this cements that idea. I'm practically _ice skating_ like I'm in Snowhead again, sliding on the steps, covered in sticky and thick gore. There's a pile of bodies at the landing, and I almost feel the apple from earlier rising in my throat. But no, I can't throw up. Not now. Fighting on an empty stomach would only put me in a worse condition, and I can't afford to weaken myself now.

The once peaceful gathering of houses and buildings is now a place of chaos, chaos that's squished in together in the tiny town, and yet larger than the town itself.

From what I've been told, the tension between the Hylians and Gerudo at the border before the war began was about to snap, and this is what it feels like. The growing tension has finally been severed. The stew's boiled over. This is a real fight between sides, while the invasion of the castle may have been the beginning, the Hylians are now ready to hold their own more than before. They can fight back this time. While it was a surprise, it's less than the initial attack.

All is chaos and I feel lost. I don't know what to do or where to go. I'd always thought it'd be a more organized process with rules and diplomatic relations between the warring sides. But it was foolish to think that, this guy... he's going to play as dirty as he can. I knew that.

War in Hyrule, at least from what I've heard, has never been like that, it's always been tumultuous and filled with terror. It has a history covered in blood, and it seems that fate has decided to write another bloody entry. Another war. I hope for Hylia's sake those three goddesses are entertained by us and our mortal conflicts.

I don't want to get too far into the thick of things yet. Best eliminate the enemy that's closer to the front of town, at the back of the jumbled mess.

I make out a Lizalfos through the mass of bodies and pick my target. It's deeper in than I wanted to get into, but it's war. It's expected to get ugly, and if this isn't ugly, I don't know what it is. It's almost to that point in this cramped space that I can't tell the sides apart, they've mixed together into one. Almost a personification of war and chaos and terror.

I dodge past those in my way, already prepared to fight. Lizalfos are easy. That's not a question. Even before I began to pick up the sword again, I could take one out. This'll be a peace of cake, a sip of Lon Lon Milk.

I see it hiss in recognition as I step up to it. No one's wasted their time on this guy yet, but he would work as a warm up for me. The space around us is small, the knotted mess of bodies keeps me and the lizard man in close proximity. But that's okay. At least I'll be able to keep him close. There's no way he'll be able to hop away from me.

It feels easier now, takes less effort to concentrate. I lunge at the creature and stab into its stomach, bare of any armor or scales. Before it can press against the crowd to get away, I make a final action, chopping it's head off. I do a double take. It's head is clean off, falling to the ground, the tongue limp.

Dang. I didn't expect to do that. I'd just wanted to slit the thing's throat, not lob it's head off. I almost feel bad for the bugger. The fate I sentenced him to was cruel. But I don't have time to waste on being guilty that I killed a Lizalfos. The other Link would be so disappointed.

I push deeper into the fighting, keeping an eye out. In training, it sure would've been useful to learn what to do during these types of situations. Should I feel obligated to help a fellow soldier up against an enemy? Should I stick with those who are also brandishing the classic sword and shield? Where are the archers? Nothing makes sense in this absolute stew of people. I'm just another body added to the pot.

In the mob, I see the first familiar face. Ed.

"Ed!" I yell over the symphony of noise, of screams and battlecries and metal against metal.

I see his eyes flash to mine for an instant, before focusing back on the Gerudo he's up against. She's of the same type as those I fought throughout their fortress. She's clad in red, two deadly looking scimitars held out by her sides.

"Need some help?" I inquire, making my way to his side.

I see him flash a grin, even amidst the fighting and death around us, we both still have the nerve to mess around.

He smirks, "Just as long as you don't plan on getting stabbed."

I grin too, "I wouldn't dream of it."

The woman's menacing aura seems to be stripped away as we both have smug grins on our face, oozing snark.

The humor invigorates me, and I can feel the adrenaline continue to pump, but instead of feeling jumpy with nerves, I feel invincible for once. A little shot of that Chateau Romani stuff even. I don't even care right now that I mentioned something from NL. This battle is going to be fun.

We glance at each other out of the corner of our eyes, Edmund's green eyes flash, and even though no words are exchanged I know we're both on the same page.

We just have to catch this Gerudo unawares, overwhelm her.

His head jerks in a swift nod in my periphery, and I rush at the Gerudo. Ed slips around me and catches the Gerudo in the side, while all my sword manages to meet is the metal of her own blades.

Pain doesn't even flash in her eyes, there isn't a flinch either. Not yet. But I know she can feel it. She's still human. She won't be able to ignore it forever.

I flash a grin at Ed, "Good one!"

The mood is light, even as her blades flash with threats. She could end our lives with the two of those. But as long as I haven't been stabbed yet, I'm okay.

We keep going, circling our opponent and trying to disorient her. It must annoy her so much, to be toyed with by us, _men_ , no less. It's almost funny... they claim to hate men and yet they follow their King around blindly. They let themselves be controlled by that man, and yet he's about as nasty as they come.

The woman dodges our next attack with a flip, but we get her the next chance we get.

Ed's locked blades with her and I've already gotten around to her backside, sword poised between her shoulder blades.

I don't know why I hesitate to drive the blade through her, to end the life of my enemy.

I see Ed's eyes searing into me, and I know he's yelling at me in his head to end her now, while we have the chance.

There's no other choice, we've got her right where we want her and it'll be soon when she gets herself out of this.

I set my jaw, fighting the guilt rising in my chest. She's a Gerudo. I want her dead.

_What about Nabooru?_ I ask in my head.

_Shut up. Just end her._ I retort back at myself.

"You know, it was always a short coming of you Gerudo..." I hold the tip of my sword against her skin, seeing a small stream of blood start down her back, I can feel her tense, "never had any shields. No real protection either. Shame."

I know that was morbid of me to say, but I had to justify this to myself. I had to say that.

Before I can think about it too much, realize the weight of my actions, I slide the sword into her, right under her ruby red bikini top.

There's a pressure but then I feel my sword go through her. She goes limp almost immediately and I pull my sword out, seeing the blood coated on the blade. Too much blood.

"Nice!" Ed congratulates, but his voice seems far away.

I stagger away from him, deeper in the crowd. I just want to put distance between me and that body.

I don't know why I'm so upset... I killed Ganondorf once before... but he was so evil, I'd never regretted what I'd done. But I can't help but feel raw and utter guilt for the life of this Gerudo woman. She isn't the one responsible for this war, she isn't pulling the strings. She was a pawn. Just like I am.

I forget what I was trying to accomplish in this battle and I hear Ed's voice calling after me until he gets lost in the chaos behind me.

I have no idea where I'm headed now, and I push past everything, even those I'd wanted to fight, the soulless monsters, the spirited Gerudo.

I'm nearly to the windmill when I hear a metal clank near me. I focus my eyes on the monstrous figure, one that's clad in armor. An iron knuckle.

I don't know why I was picked out from the crowd, but I can see it toying with the equally monstrous battle axe in its hands.

I'll have no choice but to fight it, since defeat will only lead to my death. But I know that within that metal cage, there's a soul inside.

I... I don't want to destroy another life. But this is war, it isn't pretty... definitely isn't ideal. I understand now the feeling of the Shadow Temple. This is bloody work, war, and yet as a soldier I have to defend.

I don't even want to be a soldier, I want to flee, but I'll deal with this guy.


	17. Those who paid

The axe cleaves downward, and I dodge out of the way as fast as I can, darting to the side of the massive battle axe. It's partially buried in the ground from the force of the swing.

While the iron knuckle is defenseless pulling it out of the dirt, I see it as a chance to attack. It'll be hard to actually hurt my opponent though, I can't see a chink in the armor. I'll try to land a hit on the spaces in between the plate armor, but it'll be hard to not just miss hit its armor, and metal on metal won't give me an advantage edge-wise.

Might as well try. As much as I want to spare the life of the Gerudo within the armor, it's either my life or hers.

I do my best to remove the image of the bloody slit in the Gerudo's back. It's burned into my eyes, the end of her life, repeating over and over.

It's not or never, the axe is beginning to slide out, and I'm just standing in wait to be chopped in half.

I strike out at the shoulder of the armor, where's there a small slit between two pieces of armor between the shoulder guards and the helmet. I can tell my blade meets flesh as it slices into the space between the armor.

The axe comes loose from the ground and I bound away from the iron knuckle, considering my options.

Finding and then hacking at the tiniest slits between the armor won't do any exponential damage, what I need to do to really wreak some havoc is get the armor off it.

I barely remember how I did it back then, the multiple times I had to fight these buggers.

I harden my expression, preparing myself for its next attack. It clanks over at me, slow and yet wielding so much power. It hefts the battle axe back over its shoulder and then slams it down at me. But I'm ready this time and backflip away from the sharp blade that comes crashing back down into the ground.

The straps securing the armor would be a viable way to get down to something I can actually hit.

I dash back over to the iron knuckle and spy some straps, dark against the already dark getup. I slash at the leather straps along its arm, and it takes a bit of an effort to saw through the leather. The pieces of armor begin to clatter to the ground. While this will give the iron knuckle more mobility, it'll make the battle wrap-up quicker.

It's much easier to separate emotion from an iron knuckle than a Gerudo like the one I had slain. With their faces and bodies covered in so much metal, they stop looking like humans, as morbid as that is. I just have to keep thinking that until the battle is over.

You'd think the iron knuckle would adapt quicker in battle, but there's only the vertical slashes and later, as the armor falls to the ground, side slashes.

Evasion was never that hard, even after my skills atrophied into nothing, so I steer well clear of that blade. It's so hefty and yet so sharp and precise, it's hulking but has a grace in its slices, whizzing through the air, razor sharp at the tips.

Time has already lost all meaning, and I have tunnel vision, oblivious to the fighting around me. This is no longer a battle between Ganondorf's forces and the Hylians, it's a showdown between me and this iron knuckle.

I begin getting anxious, still doing my best to slash out, but my enemy is getting faster and I'm tiring. I'm sloppy and I feel the blade catch the side of my arms. But I'm close. I can tell. Another shot through the middle will just about do it.

I stand at the ready, poised on my toes for its next attack, waiting for my chance to counter.

It launches a quick and lethal spin of its axe, catching me off guard.

The first thing I feel is the sharp cut, and then the eruption of pain as blood immediately begins to seep into the fabric of my shirt. Not only was it strong, but the razor quality of the axe makes the cut smart like there's no tomorrow. There may as well not be a tomorrow for me. This cut isn't shallow. How else would I be losing blood this quickly?

One things clear though, even as my thoughts began to muddle from blood loss, I have to end this threat. Right now. I allowed myself to get sloppy and distracted, and I'm paying for it, unfortunately.

It attacks again, and I dodge as best as I can, feeling its axe graze the side of my face and my shoulder. That was another close call. This can't be happening.

The axe is fortunately buried once again in the dirt, and without hesitation this time I drive my sword through the iron knuckle's now exposed chest. I hear a scream from inside the helmet as I begin twisting the blade in deeper without realizing it, and my heart twists in on itself.

_Ignore it. Finish this._

The body slumps backward on the ground and yet I'm still looming over its- no... _her_ body, still pushing my sword into her chest, into the dirt.

A sob burns in the back of my throat and my vision swims with tears and dizziness. What's wrong with me? I'm fine. Everything is fine. I beat an iron knuckle. That's a good thing. For the love of Nayru... it's freaking wonderful.

I pull the sword out, with more blood caked on now than I've seen it this whole time I've been drafted. The helmet is still on over her head, and I want to keep it that way. I can't bear to see those hollow, dead eyes staring at me.

I need something else to do. To get my mind off those eyes.

Even when my body protests I pull myself up, trying to look the part of who I once was. Not phased, heck... maybe he'd even air on the side of apathy. But no, that Link wouldn't have been seen as apathetic. But he handled himself, facing every challenge head on. That's who I'm supposed to be. I _am_ him.

I stagger away from the body surrounded by metal pieces, already getting swallowed up by the crowd. The noises of fighting return in full and I let the waves of sound crash over me.

The pain is a nuisance but I bear with it. I'm getting more beat up as I go on, but I don't know what else to do but to keep fighting.

———

"There you are!"

Edmund appears behind me, there's a cut above his right eyebrow, dripping blood down his face.

"Yeah, I'm here." I answer, trying to cover up the hollowness of my voice. Everything is fine... for the sake of holy Hylia herself... I'm _fine_. End of story.

I know he's going to ask why I ran off, so I decide to change the subject.

"Geez... what happened to your forehead? A rowdy dinner party?" My smirk feels foreign on my face but I keep it up for appearances.

He actually laughs at that, "Pfft. Of course it was... everyone and their mom knows Gerudo have horrible table manners, although they won't admit to it." His voice is almost as dry as the desert they hail from, and I can feel the mood lighten, the tightness in my chests begins to lessen.

"Now what, may I ask, happened to you?"

"Impa tried to teach me how to be a Sheikah... went more rough than you might think."

"Looks like you lost a lot of blood, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine,"

"Yeah, and I'm the King of Hyrule." His face becomes no-nonsense, a scowl replacing the mischievous grin.

"You aren't looking so good yourself, your Majesty." I retort quietly as I hear my blood pumping in my ears. I'm woozy again, and everything seems far away again.

"Link? Are you okay? Hello?"

I focus on Ed, but my concentration is deteriorating fast.

And then, as my idiotic self usually does during these situations, I pass out. I don't even know how many times I've done it at this point.

———

_As if my situation didn't suck enough, my subconscious decided to send me a double-whammy in the form of another blast from my much beloved past. Goody._

_While most of these take me back to the always lively and oh so fun Ikana, I'm taken back to that field instead._

_I guess it's always daytime here, with the bright grass and the lone tree in the center of it all, dark against the light blue horizon, one that is streaked over with clouds._

_The children play around the tree, running after each other._

_The seem normal enough with their bare feet and white clothes, if not for the abominations on their faces, the masks._

_I remember how they wanted my masks, they hungered for them, desired. I gave them all the ones I had. I didn't want them anymore anyway, and if they did, then why not?_

_Their questions are the ones that haunt me now, and the masks of the monsters they portray._

_"What kind of people are your friends? Do they see you as a friend?"_

_"Does what makes you happy make others happy too?"_

_"If you do the right thing does it makes others happy?"_

_"What is your true face? Is it the one under the mask?"_

_Why can I hear it so clearly, even now? It's like it's been ingrained in my brain, like how that stamp has been tattooed onto my hand._

_Their questions... they always rubbed me the wrong way. Why did they want to know? Those children were the mask's creations, they didn't care about me. To put me at unease was my best guess, to make me doubt everything I had strived for, make me question whether I was doing the right thing. What was the right thing?_

_And the final and lone child of the mask and of the moon, seated at the base of the tree, alone._

_I'd gotten rid of every last mask, every last souvenir of this place haunted by death, stuck in a limbo. Life and death hung in the balance here, always awaiting the apocalyptic end of all they knew. Those masks represented this journey, and I just wanted to leave. Not even to return home, I didn't know where I fit anymore, I wanted to flee._

_I had walked up to him, and I see the memory in clarity. The child sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, that mask on his face, with its horns and those eyes._

_I see his head turn up as I approach, "I don't have any masks for you, they're all gone." Now that I noticed it, all the others had disappeared too._

_"Let's do something else then. How about a game?"_

_I nod, wondering what he'll have in store for me._

_The others had challenges for me, disguised as a game of hide-and-seek. And it seemed this one had the same trick too._

_"Let's play good guys against bad guys. You're the bad guy. When you're bad, you just run."_

_That last line still rings in my head. At this point, at the tail end of my journey, I just wanted to run. To flee, even. Although I don't tell that to anyone. No one needs to know. A supposed former "hero" shouldn't want to hightail it away from a threat. The opposite should be true._

_I see the Fierce Deity's mask appear as the child hands it to me._

_Is this the end? I slip on the mask and feel a transformation coursing through me. I'm taller now, stronger too. There's a deadly double-helix sword in my hands._

_This is it._

———

I come to almost immediately, already disoriented. The battle isn't around me anymore, and there's unbearable silence in its place.

It hurts, and I try to focus on my surroundings. Where am I? There's stone walls and a stone ceiling, and there's dim light coming from sparse lanterns fixated on the wall.

I thought I've seen almost everything there was to see of Kakariko, but maybe I was wrong. I've definitely never been here before.

I start to sit up, which only infuriates my body more. I see a few people in here near me. It looks like a tunnel, narrow and stretching in both directions.

"Where am I?" I ask to no one in particular.

"The Sheikah tunnels." Is one's response, a soldier that looks to be on death's door. He's extremely pale and his voice sounds more like a rough whisper than anything else.

I've never heard of those before. But if I don't know, maybe others don't know either. Actually... that's a really bad way to gauge who knows and who doesn't. Well, either way, Impa is the only Sheikah so it'd make sense for this place to be a well-kept secret on her part.

My sword is missing, but my shield is leaning on the wall beside me. I'll need it. I can't just stay here, how long was I asleep? Has anything happened?

I struggle to stand up, gripping the wall for support. That's when I notice the familiar feeling on bandages. I see someone who looks like a medic down the tunnel, helping another who looks to be in grave condition. I guess this serves as the infirmary then. More safe than a house or anything.

I need to leave though, I pick up my shield and grab on to the handle. Both directions look the same, and I have no idea what would lead back to Kakariko. Heck, if I'm currently in the middle of the tunnel then I could walk in either direction. I have no idea how far this tunnel system spans.

My guess is a good as any, so I move away from the others, praying that I picked the right direction.

While I walk, my mind has another blast at tormenting me. It doesn't even have to go back far to make my skin crawl this time. The iron knuckle appears again in my head, and I can see my hands twisting the blade into her chest. I don't know why I feel so... so guilty.

I walk on, leaning on the wall while I stumble forward, focusing on the gloom in front of me.

Several minutes elapse and I start to see something appear in the distance. A staircase.

I have no idea where this one goes, but I don't know the layout of these tunnels, and an exit is an exit. The only problem would be if the exit gets me right back into the battle, with nothing but a shield to my name. Nothing to fight back with. I must've lost my sword when I passed out. In that sea of chaos, it makes perfect sense.

When I make it to the stairs, I go up without hesitation. They spiral up and I try to mentally prepare myself for what I could see when I leave. If I've been out cold for a few hours, anything could've happened while I went back to NL.

The stairs don't stretch on forever, but it sure does feel that way. I just hobble on, I can't stop yet. Eventually, I see light above me, and my pace quickens.

I come out of the ground and into a small room with a door in front of me. I turn the handle and find myself in Impa's house. Huh. Interesting.

I never noticed this door before, but as I close it, I see why. It's disguised on the outside to look like the rest of the wall, only someone with knowledge of its existence could even make out and comprehend the slits between the rest of the wall and the door.

I conceal the stairway again, swallowed back into the wall. Never here.

Her house looks largely undisturbed, which is surprising. You'd think they'd attack here. Guess not. There's signs of panic though, of hurrying. Some things are off kilter, as if many came in with great hurry.

I make my way outside.

Even here, above the rest of the town, I can see bodies. And below, the sea has now been reduced to one of the dead, carcasses in the tide. The sinking sun only adds to the effect of bloodshed, it's slipping under the rocky walls, sending scarlet rays onto the destruction below. Not only is there immense death, but the houses below in the valley are trashed.

I work my way down, trying not to step on the bodies littering the stairs.

I can't tell who won. There seems to be many casualties on both sides. And now, in death, they've all been reduced to the same fate. It's almost depressing.

There's the sound of someone landing behind me, and I look up to see Impa, her face solemn, even with the nasty cut on her cheek.

I can't even find my words, trying to focus on her face instead of the bodies.

She seems to know what I wanted to ask.

_What happened?_

"Miraculously, the Hylians held on. We managed to hold them off. But not without a price, as you can see."

I nod, a bitter scowl forms on my face as I see the blood splattered surroundings.

"Then... where is ever-ryone?" I fight the tremors in my voice, I'm fine... I lived, for Farore's sake.

"Most of the civilians are already out, they left when the attack began through the tunnels. The remaining soldiers are gathering back at the ranch."

"And you?"

She sighs, and I can see the sadness in her eyes as she looks down at Kakariko.

"I couldn't just leave it yet. But I'll take you to the ranch. I'll need to return here though, to properly bury those who paid for our victory." Her voice is quiet, but I wouldn't mistake it for weak.

I manage a nod.

The mood is somber as she leads me through the bodies and out of Kakariko, leaving the remains of the battle behind.


	18. The antithesis of camaraderie

The celebration is already in full swing when Impa and I arrive, Epona with us. She's a strong horse, I knew she'd make it through.

The sunset is fading, submitting to the darkening navy sky. Stars are pricking into existence above, and the night is as pretty as today had begun, not a cloud in the sky, with the moon bright against the dark backdrop.

There's a large bonfire in the center of the field, and I can see the silhouettes of others, joining in the camaraderie. I don't know why that hurts, we did win, it seems, something we all hadn't expected. I just can't get the bodies out of my head, sure... we won, but we lost a lot of our fighting force. And it was only one battle... I doubt we've made a dent in his forces. Cause he plays dirty like the cheating man he is. We may have one the battle, but we still have the war. Things will definitely turn sour again, and we might not be so lucky then. But I leave my cynicism to myself. I'll let everyone else enjoy the festival mood in the sweet night air.

As Impa and I walk towards the field, one of the last people I want to see today comes over to me.

Great... I can already sense what's coming. Dohean looks all the more displeased than usual, and even amongst the festivities his solemn mask of an expression doesn't look the least bit relieved, or even satisfied with the actions of the soldiers.

"There you are." He says impatiently, as if I was trying to be late. I didn't know I had anything to be "late" for. Why he's wasting time with me is unknown. Dohean seems to hate me- well it's more than seems, I know he does- and since I'm just that snarky, nobody soldier, he could just completely ignore me.

I see his attention flick over to Impa, and I start getting a bad vibe when just his expression sends her away. Dohean doesn't even have to say anything.

Impa shoots me a look as she walks away, taking Epona's reins from me. I can almost hear her saying "good luck". Yeah... I'm gonna need it. He's _fuming_ with annoyance and anger. Geez... I don't even know what I did.

"What's wrong now?" I ask, tired and not in the mood to be the object of the general's anger.

"Don't speak out of line. What you did earlier... that was unacceptable."

What in Hylia's name is he talking about? What did I do? It's hard to single one out, since I've had at least two infractions against Dohean today. Was it the sneaking out? It may seem like desertion, but keeping me cooped up in here like a cuccoo does anything but make me want to stay and be easy to control. I never asked to be drafted, I want to be alone. I wouldn't even waste my time trying to betray the Hylians. It wouldn't really benefit me, Ganondorf hates me too.

I raise my eyebrows in a silent question, not wanting to ask him in case he snaps at me again, which only makes him angrier.

"You snuck out. Again. But it was when you rushed into battle on that horse." He snarls, "This is war. Orders can't be taken lightly."

I silently prod him to continue, nodding slowly with widened eyes. He's prolonging this already painful process too much... why can't he just cut to the chase?

"You're the princess' problem now. I can't have you as one of my soldiers." Dohean's words are so sudden I almost laugh. Is he kidding?

Dohean walks away as I stay near the front of the ranch, dumbfounded.

I almost let myself be relieved for a second, but leaving me in the princess' hands isn't the leave-taking I wanted. She doesn't want me to leave, and with me as "her problem" I'll never get a chance to escape. It wouldn't even count as AWOL now.

"You're okay," I see Malon coming over to me, happiness plain on her face. Relief too.

"Oh. Yeah," I spare a small smile, and I feel her wrap her arms around me. I don't know why I'd jerk away from the sudden touch... she's supposed to be my girlfriend, and yet after what I'd experienced in Kakariko, I'm still jumpy I guess.

"Are you..." I look down to see her peering up at me, "okay?"

"Of course I am." I laugh, letting my eyes drop to the blood stain across my tunic. "I'm a bit beat up though, huh?"

"Yeah, you are." She steps away from me, and I feel her hand brush over my injury. That's startling too. Uncomfortable. The cut stings from the contact, and I break away from her hands.

I can see the hurt look in her eyes, but it clouds over back into a state of pleasantry.

"Why don't we go and enjoy the party?" Malon asks, "You helped us achieve a victory, and you should celebrate that."

She smiles and I extend my hand out to hers.

Malon practically pulls me across the field and through the crowd of people. The only light is from the moon and the large bonfire, casting severe shadows on everyone's faces.

If I think too much about it, my mind drifts back to the sea of fighting bodies. I can't let that happen. That is all over now. And yet... I know this war is far from over.

———

I stick around with Malon more, but the celebration just fuels my headache. I need silence, the war was so loud and chaotic and the joyful crowd is twisting into a violent mob.

"Hey Malon?"

"Hmm?"

She's distracted, lost in the happy fervor of the crowd. There's good food all around and cheering.

"I've got to go now." My voice shakes, and it feels as if those around me are converging on me, thirsty for blood. And geez... I almost forgot about my new predicament. In Zelda's hands.

"Okay?" She's sidetracked, and Ed's near her too, smiling even with his banged up appearance similar to mine. He's completely lost in the food, practically a feast compared to our rations before.

To me, I think it's stupid to be wasting such a precious resource of food, especially during a war. Especially since our main supplier, Kakariko, has been sacked from the looks of it.

I squeeze her hand once before slipping away to somewhere quiet.

In the end, I walk over to the stables, away from the others. There's no light inside the stables, but I can just make out the outlines of the horses.

I know where Epona's stall is, even in the dark, and I let her out and lead her over to the pile of hay in the corner. I don't know what I'm doing. It's reminiscent of nights back then, sleeping on the go with Epona and Navi. Of course... in that place, I didn't have time to sleep. Every time I went to sleep the moon would still hang over my under my eyelids, and it wasn't restful. Sleep was just wasting time there.

"Hey... c'mon down here 'Pona," my voice is soft, and I help her lower down to the hay-covered ground. I get a seat next to her, lying back on the hay, even as it scratches against my back. I'm out of the hullabaloo, that's all that matters right now.

And now about my fate. Dohean's words still echo in my head, and I can hear them now that I'm away from everyone.

_You're the princess' problem now_

Wasn't I always her problem? She's the one who made me a soldier in the first place- against my will, I might add- I didn't ask for this. But of course... he doesn't care. No one does. I was a nuisance to him, I know. I'm unpredictable and don't follow orders. I was too used to operating on my own, being the lone hero with a burden on his shoulders and the world out to get him.

And I don't even want to begin thinking of what she's going to do with me now... she won't just let me leave, that's for sure. It makes no sense to me, she already knows I miss the forest, but there's some reason she wants me to stay. Whatever it is, I bet it's some crazy and unreasonable one. If she still thinks she can bend me to her will... carry out her plans... she's sorely mistaken. I already was the hero for her. I played soldier too. And yet I'm still trapped in this like-like of a predicament. Just wonderful.

As I think, I absentmindedly stroke Epona's head. The silence helps to calm my nerves, but I'm still sore. It's okay... I didn't expect them to stop now.

Out of nowhere, I hear the door open, and silvery light floods into the stables. Epona perks up at the light and noise, ears flickering.

I keep my mouth shut, if it's someone looking for me, I'm not in the mood to talk.

"Link?"

Oh for the love of Nayru... this is great. Whoopty freaking doo.

I cross my fingers that she won't find me, but I stick out like a sore thumb against the hay. And I'm too injured to try some sneaky maneuver. And she's the one trained in the Sheikah techniques... not me. I'm trapped, pinned against the hay- and the wall.

Her silhouette is dark against the light from outside, and I know I'm a goner when I see her body turn in my direction. The door stays open behind her, leaking light into my corner.

While everyone I've seen (except that wet blanket Doheah) has seemed carefree, lost in the festivities, Zelda still looks as anxious as she did before. Maybe even more so. She isn't lulled into content either, then. Although I doubt for the same reason as me.

"Hey," she's quiet and the hay rustles as she sits down beside me, "are you okay? I've been looking for you."

There's a pang in my chest, why? Her voice is chock full of concern, and I know it's real. It's soft and gentle, with undertones of nervousness. I don't understand.

"I'm... fine."

She snorts, which takes me aback from how blunt it is. It's been weeks since I've spoken to Zelda, and I didn't know how I expected for our next conversation to go. Definitely not this. In the dark, on a pile of hay with Zelda.

"Yeah... like I'd buy that. You're moping on top of a pile of hay in the dark."

"Duly noted." my response is nonchalant.

I hear her sigh and shift a little in the hay.

"You don't have to tell me, I just..." here comes another sigh, "I guess what I want to say is, I'm here if you want to talk."

"Oh." I won't let myself blurt out some snarky remark. She just sounds so... hurt, this isn't some playful banter.

"I came here to tell you something though,"

It's a change in subject, and I'm fine with leaving my own condition behind. On to the bigger and better.

"What is it?"

"I'm worried something bad is going to happen. What Darunia said at the meeting... I don't know if I trust what he said."

That pang has returned, I just can't believe she'd be confiding in me about her doubts. And the thing is... I shared her suspicions too, but I don't want to believe it's true. It's almost too far fetched, to be honest.

"Are you sure? What if you're just being paranoid?"

"I'm not being paranoid Link."

There's not even the slightest smidge of hesitation in her response. So she's serious about it. Even with her flaws, I know she's got quite an intuition in her head. She wouldn't just believe anything she heard. If she believes this, then there's been a lot of consideration on her part. But I don't want to believe it. I can't.

"Well okay, but I still don't know where I stand."

"You weren't even the slightest bit suspicious?" Her voice is down to a whisper, plagued with emotion.

I was suspicious, but that's all it was... a suspicion. I didn't spend hours pondering it. I didn't have the time. I'm not her.

Now it's my turn to change the subject, this topic's gotten tricky too and I'd rather just give her the 411 on what went down on my arrival back to camp. Somehow that's easier to handle right now.

"Didn't you want to know why I was moping in here?"

Dang. I even admitted to my moping. Now I look pathetic.

"Huh?"

I take a deep breath, working in my head to break this down into a few sentences. I don't want her to pity me or anything, I'm fine... I don't need anyone's pity and I know for sure I don't need- or want- hers.

"Due to my actions earlier, Dohean has stripped me of my rank as soldier. He says I'm your..." I pause, should I even call myself her problem? I'm just going to play it safe, "responsibility now."

It's silent for a few moments, and it's hard to see her face. Is she mad? I was never the model soldier, but I was so brash today... rushing off right into a battle I hadn't been ready to see. Heroes really do romanticize fighting, but war isn't noble like that, it's gritty and morbid and it isn't fair.

"Oh, I see."

"Um?"

"What?"

"You're not going to tell me what you'll do to me now that Dohean's done with me?" I let myself get excited for one second, knowing my hopes will be destroyed, "Are you going to let me go?"

Geez... I sound like a prisoner, and it's not wrong to think of the camp as such. There's tall walls, Zelda can be the prison warden, it's a nice fantasy.

"Hmm... I don't know yet. But no... you're not leaving yet, nice try though fairy boy."

"Princess."

"Shut up."

Our conversation dissolves back into silence, and I stare down at the ground, aware of her eyes on me. I knew I would get my hopes up. She's so adamant about keeping me here.

"Thanks, goodnight fairy boy."

She's quiet and I hear her get up and move towards the door.

"You too, princess."

The door clicks shut behind her and I'm back in the darkness.

I just lie there and let her words sink into me, replaying the conversation in my head. If Zelda's worried about it... should I be too? She was right about Ganondorf... and yet with her naïve plan we conveniently gathered everything for him. But, it's been a long time since then, we aren't kids anymore.

Without a doubt, I trust her, and I don't even know why. I could just feel the concern in her tone when she told me, even after a victory she wasn't convinced we were safe. And her concern for me took me for a loop. I know she used to care about me, back when she said she'd pray for my safe travels. But now, I'm resentful of her and yet she still has it in her to be nice to me? I don't get it.

My mind starts to fade out and I let my exhausted body slip into sleep, my thoughts focused on the one person I had wanted to avoid from the beginning of this mess.


	19. Under the queen’s command

My eyes feel heavy when I open them, and for a second I don't remember where I am. Light is filtering down through the rafters and the roof above, and that's when I notice the smell of hay.

It coats the place, which explains why my back feels like it's on pins and needles.

Everything about yesterday comes back to me as I start to sit up, the pain bringing me to speed. There was a battle yesterday. I got hurt. I'm kicked out of the military. And maybe, possibly, hopefully not, something is off with the Gorons.

"You're still in here farm boy?"

Huh? My mind is slow and heavy and I'm pretty sure I'm still half-asleep. The light seems extra bright and I takes longer than it should to focus on the annoyed face in front of me.

"Good to see you too, princess."

Her annoyed face just intensifies, with narrowed eyes and a scowl. I swear... she frowns too much. It's also astounding how I've been awake for only a few minutes and I've already visibly irritated someone today. It's a gift from the goddesses themselves, obviously.

Zelda still looks exhausted, even more, which is almost annoying. Fine. It's _really_ annoying. She's the one who slept on an actual bed last night, I had a pile of hay. Is she even trying to sleep? I have no idea. Why do I care?

"By the way... what are you doing here exactly?"

After not seeing her for awhile, all this contact with her has been more than a little strange. It's weird.

"Oh, well I talked to the general last night about your removal from the army."

I perk up immediately at that, sitting up with the hay sticking to my shirt.

Zelda sighs, her annoyed expression disappears, replaced with a serious one.

"Even though I asked him to give you a second chance, he denied my request. So, I've decided-"

"Are you going to let me leave?" I blurt out, I know she told me no last night, but maybe she thought about it some more. Maybe she realized how psychotic and unreasonable she was being in demanding I stay here. I had somewhat of a purpose to stay before, my place as a soldier, but I've been kicked out. There's nothing holding me here, except I suppose my girlfriend. And still... I could always visit her if I lived back in the woods.

The irritated face returns, and she already looked exhausted by life itself.

"No. I already told you my answer." Her voice drops to almost a growl, with a predatory glint in her eye. Geez... why does she do this? It's unnerving, and I'm starting to think we really will destroy each other. Zelda would start it though, even though I'm harmless. For the most part. Actually, I don't know. But she isn't as innocent in my eyes. Not only did she turn back the clock, erasing everything I had fought to achieve. I had built myself into a hero, and she had reduced me to a nobody not-kokiri boy again. And there's more than that.

"Then what are you going to do with me? There's no purpose keeping me here." I retort, my anger sweeps through my words.

It's just so frustrating... it's like Zelda thinks she owns me, like I'm obligated to follow her every command. I know she may be a queen now, but I should have a right to my life of isolation. I'm done being her pawn. That's what landed me in this mess with her in the first place. I had put trust in her and her plan to stop Ganondorf and where did that get me? Down a hole with doom hanging over my head. It may not have directly been her fault, but she'd turned me back into nothing. I'd fought for her. That's the most infuriating part about it. He must've loved her very much, he wanted to help her and he would've done anything. He went into volcanoes and through deserts for her. And at the end of it all... at the end of that two act battle, she reset it all. I'm never forgiving her that.

"You're going to be my personal guard."

What in Farore's name is she talking about? She's seen me in battle, if anyone tries to harm or kill Zelda... she'd going to be dead in my hands. But, that said, I'm still positive I'm at least better than those braindead guards at the castle.

"Don't you already have Impa?"

"She's going back to Kakariko."

Oh right, Impa had even told me herself, but I guess I forgot.

"Fine. Then what does this position entail exactly?" I don't know why or what she wants me for, but I intent to find out what I'm getting myself into.

"Hmm, that's simple. Reach all the high shelves for me." She glares at me. "What do you think idiot? _Guard_ me."

"I knew that already princess, that doesn't clear anything up."

There's another exasperated sigh.

"Fine. I don't know. I just needed to agree on something with Dohean, so I decided on making you my guard."

"So there's still no reason for me to stay?"

"No. I don't want or need a guard on me 24/7, so you can spend your days how you want. But," that last word comes out of nowhere, like an arrow whizzing just shy of grazing my cheek."you have to do one thing for me."

"And what is that?"

I can't even begin to guess what she wants from me. My brain's already overloaded with this and it's still the beginning of the day.

"Train with me, and no more gallivanting all over Hyrule."

"You know that's more than one thin-"

"Shut up. I swear to Nayru if you go out one more time..." I honestly don't want to find out what she'll do to me. Shes crazy enough to murder me for such a petty infraction. Fun killer.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Wouldn't call it 'gallivanting' though."

So I've got train her? Train her in what? I have a bad sneaking suspicion it'll be for fighting. Honestly, it's probably an excuse for her to beat me up. That sneaky princess. Literally. She kept appearing out of nowhere when I least expected it. I nearly had a heart attack when she snuck up behind me inside that volcano. It was just so unexpected. I almost fell off and into the lava on that rickety wooden bridge. Why is there a wooden bridge inside an active volcano?! No clue.

"Well, that's all I'm asking for. You don't have to guard me." Her tone suggest I have a choice in this, but the gig's up. Her's is the only choice here.

"... I don't have a choice do I?" I deadpan at her, already knowing the answer to that question

"Nope."

Now it's my turn to sigh. Yep, she definitely still thinks she can control me.

I expect her to leave now, but she extends her hand out to me, waiting for something.

With a blank face I hold my hand out to hers. Then we shake on it, one firm motion. There's no choice for me here, but I wonder if I could've decided against or for this. What would I have chosen? In all actuality... I would've said no. But there wasn't that option for me. Bummer.

I startle when Zelda pulls me to my feet, and I almost start to stumble on top of her again.

"You can do what you want for now, if I need you I'll find you."

Don't know how much she'll really "need" me, but I guess I'm stuck again at the ranch. There will be no chancing it with her threats. It'll probably end with a knife in my back or something. I don't want to find out.

"Okay. ...do you know where Malon is?" I can almost hear my voice twinge in awkwardness as I bring up my girlfriend. Why do I feel so weird about it?

"Your girlfriend huh? Last I knew she's still sleeping."

So I guess she knows after all, I'd had a feeling she was aware of my relationship with Malon, but it feels almost wrong coming from her.

"Oh. Should I wait?" 

"I don't know. Do what you want."

Her voice is softer now and I feel her hand slip from mine as she wants back towards the door and outside.

I stand in my place for a second, letting our conversation sink in. The duality of Zelda's decision is one of contradiction. She's giving me freedom in this place to do what I want, with only two things I have to abide by. And yet... I'm still here. She won't let me leave but she'll give me some essence of freedom. It makes no sense. It's a paradox, in a way.

———

Talon let me wait in their kitchen for awhile before Malon finally woke up.

It's already late morning, and I'm surprised Malon's still sleeping. I thought she'd have to start her chores early. For a rancher, Malon sure does sleep a lot.

A golden light is coming in through the kitchen window, and I'm tapping my fingers on the wooden table, almost lethargic on boredom.

"Still here?" I hear Talon's deep voice behind me and I nod.

"Yup. Sorry, should I go wait outside?" It's uncomfortable in two ways, the concept of me sitting in the Lon Lon's kitchen for longer than an hour and how empty and uneventful my life is now. Yesterday I was in battle and now I've spent a good fraction of my day waiting for my girlfriend to wake up. How things can change.

"No worries, you can go wake her up, you know."

I could've? So this time waste could've been avoided. Wish he'd told me that when I came in their house in the first place. But whatever.

I hear Talon leave the house, and I start out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

The upstairs hallway is bright with sunlight as well, and I walk down to Malon's door, past the guest room I have no doubt Zelda's in right now. It's shut and I can almost hear the crinkling of papers and feel the concentration as she continues her work of something. Seems more like pushing herself to her breaking point to me. If she isn't seriously sleep deprived already, she'll be soon. But I'm not here to think about her. I've got a sleepyhead to wake up.

Malon's room is still the same light yellow as I remember in my childhood. She still has some of her drawings on the walls too, self portraits, cuccoos, horses.

In the corner of the room, past the round table in the middle of the floor, is the bed. I can see her bright ginger hair sticking out against the quilt, spilling down the pillow.

Might as well get this over with.

I get over to her and then stand by her bed, wondering how to wake her up. I don't want it to be creepy or anything. This whole thing is weird.

In the end, I shake her awake, trying to keep it gentle.

Malon thrashes into wakefulness, retaliating against my touch by slinging her arm at me. I get a bony elbow to the face.

"For the love of Nayru... that bites!" I yell out in response. This is definitely what I'd wanted for my day. I reach up to clutch my nose, which was where her hit landed. I'm already battered and bruised enough, there's a bandage on my face even, for crying out loud. But it's already too late. It felt like a pop when her arm connected to my nose, and the pain began. Now there's warm blood seeping- no. Gushing out of my nose.

I'm trying to keep the blood of the floor and myself and her bed when I see Malon's eyes snap open, wide with surprise.

"Link?" Her voice is groggy, and there's fiery hair falling into her face.

It seems to take her a second of staring blankly at me to realize why I'm covering my nose with both hands.

"Oh my goodness... what in Hyrule happened to you?" Malon's already up and out of the bed, hands reaching out towards my face.

"Heh. You happened." My voice is muffled from my hands, and I try to say it fast, there might be blood dripping in my mouth. I definitely don't want that.

Her eyes flash with recognition and she's reduced to nothing but nervous laughter.

"That was you? I guess I thought it was a threat or something. Sorry... I guess I'm not aware of my own strength..." Her laughter subsided after a moment, and then she's grabbing one of her bandanas in a heap on the floor.

"Here, move your hands away."

I ease them out of their clamp over my nose, feeling the blood soak into the cloth.

"Okay fairy boy, now pinch your nose and lean your head forward." She orders, and I do as she says. This girl beat me up still half-asleep. Why is every girl I know sorta, mildly terrifying? I mean I guess Saria's relatively harmless... but she can get mad. And she's still- and forever- a kid.

It takes a few minutes to get my nose to stop leaking blood, but eventually it's done. But I'll have a bruise for awhile. She'd sent her elbow at me hard.

I had to wait outside for her to change, but now we're walking through the field over to Edmund.

"So you're saying he's really hurt?"

"Yeah, burned. Happened after you left."

Wow... good job Ed. He was scratched up enough from the siege at Kakariko, but that bonfire yesterday night gave him a severe burn. Guess someone got too into the food.

The infirmary is the most packed I've seen it. There are so many injured, and the severity varies. I should probably be getting my bandages redone, these ones are getting old, and I need a new shirt too, but they have more than enough on their hands right now. Maybe I'll wait for things to die down a bit.

Edmund's near the back, sitting on the floor and looking disenchanted with the camaraderie he'd just yesterday craved.

"Hey Ed, I brought Link to visit," Malon's voice is barely audible over the other voices and sounds of pain around us, but it's loud enough to hear.

He looks tired and tousled up, a vacant look in his green eyes. Both his hands are seemingly covered in that topical red jelly Malon used on me and wrapped in bandages. Not to mention his face. And his chest. Those are in the same condition.

"What happened?" I ask. I'm morbidly curious, I knew the party had been getting rowdier by the time I left... but it's also hilariously ridiculous what happened to him. And he looks cannily similar to a Gibdo with all the wraps.

"It was crazy, everything was a blur, and I remember spinning and then tripping. And I... lost my balance and fell into the fire."

It takes all of my small amount of tact to keep from laughing at him. It's not like I'm happy he got hurt... but the thought of him tripping into the freaking _bonfire_ of all things is beyond hysterical.

"I know you want to laugh. Well laugh all you want, I could've died for all you know."

Geez, now he's being all dramatic about it. But I do let loose a few chuckles, I can't help it. He looks so pathetic in his plethora of bandages, tired and sitting on the ground.

"Okay, I'm sorry, it's just hard to believe."

"Yeah, well... you're telling me."


	20. A reason to beat me up

I almost get another heart attack when I hear a voice pop out behind me out of nowhere, a shout compared to the relative silence.

"You think you're better enough to spar me?"

"For the love of all that is holy... can you not sneak up on me like that?! I nearly had a-"

I spin around on my heel to glare at her. Zelda returns with an innocent smile. She's ridiculous.

It's been around a week since returning from the siege at Kakariko, and for the most part I've been taking it easy around here. The princess hasn't needed me for anything yet, but I guess I'm healed enough to train with her by now. Zelda's already outfitted in her Sheikah gear, and once again I know I'll end up having to spar with her anyway.

I sigh, accepting my fate, "Alright, let's do this."

A smile brightens on her face, lighting up her eyes. For a quick second I forget I'm supposed to be angry at her, seeing the clear happiness in her expression.

No. I am mad.

The only reason I agreed to this was simply that I had no other choice, and I just decided to do it instead of arguing with her. It just isn't worth it if most of the time she leaves me be. Besides my apparent "ranch arrest" my new situation isn't too shabby. But still, even if I'm somewhat glad she's letting me off relatively easy, that doesn't mean we're now going to be friendly. I'm just following her orders like in her servant. That's all this is now, and it's more than it should be at that.

"I'll go get your gear with you, okay fairy boy?"

"Sure."

I start walking before she can drag me over across the field to the armory. I don't need to be humiliated further.

The field's been thinned out. There's a lot of injured still at the infirmary, and there's just a general lack of people. Malon's there slaving away with the other medics to help all those harmed. The siege took a lot out of us, not just lives but resources too. A portion of the soldiers who had been here were as far as I know transferred to Kakariko for two reasons. To clean up the mess of bodies and destruction and to help fortify the town against the possibility of another attack.

I don't know if the graveyard's big enough for all the dead. And not just from the battle... injuries have caused death after the fact too.

But there's still morale, hope. Our victory showed what we can do, even outnumbered and taken by surprise. Well, for most people. The loss of that many seemed to outweigh the victory for me. And this isn't the end, it isn't over until he pays for his deeds against Hyrule- known and forgotten- with his life. Then I'll rest easy.

The days are finally beginning to cool down, and the armory is vacant except for a few soldiers nearby. Those that are here aren't unharmed either, just less hurt than the majority of our force now.

Zelda get over to the sword racks and picks one out for me. It's similar to the blade of evil's bane, but nothing is quite like that sword. The cross-guard's design is similar though. Instead of handing it to me carefully like a normal person, the princess instead holds it out to me, the blade pointed at my chest.

"Careful! You could've impaled me!" I growl at her, avoiding the blade and snatching it from her hands.

"Sorry," she mutters.

Yeah, whatever. I don't care. It's just a mix of my already pre-existing irritation of the princess and my track record of injuries ever since I returned. All of that is just mixing together into a stew of irritation and anger and annoyance. But it's fine.

I don't let her help me pick out a shield and some soldiers guards. Knowing her, she'd probably chuck the shield at my face or something.

"Ready to go?" I ask, adjusting my grip on my weapon. There's the realization, I haven't held a sword since the day of the siege. My mind drifts back to her back, the blood dripping down under my blade, coating my sword with blood. I can still feel her body convulses as I impale her, as if her body's trying to get as much living into the few seconds she has left, before she slumps. Dead. Just like that... gone. The Gerudo have so much fight in them, but in her final moments there was nothing she could do.

"Link?"

I'm snapped out of my depressive train of thoughts, jumping at the sound of my name. She always calls me "fairy boy", which is why I jolt as much as I do. The princess isn't supposed to call me by my name. At this point, the nicknames we have for each other have become our names. Although, mine for her is more respectful. She is a princess after all. Technically a queen, but there hasn't been an official coronation. There's no time for that.

"Huh? Oh. I'm fine. You worried I'll beat you?" It takes a second for me to get back into the groove, fighting the pain that's forming in my chest. Just forget about it.

She gives a laugh full of mirth, "Says the guy who's been stabbed... how many times?"

Even as the moment once again becomes snarky and competitive, I see that look in her eye. Concern. She always looks at me with concern. Or pity, but I don't want to be pitied, and not by her. Best to ignore it for now, I need to focus on proving her wrong.

"Touché." I say with a scowl.

While I'm still awkwardly standing there, I see Zelda pull the cowl up to her nose, so only her eyes are visible under the fringe of her blonde bangs.

We both get lower to the ground, staring each other down. Who's gonna make the first move? As a form of habit, my heart's already beating faster, and I can feel the tunnel-vision of battle form, blocking out my periphery.

Zelda decides to make the first move, dashing towards me, low to the ground. Is the trying to get me down by crashing into me?! There's no time for me to prepare, she's too agile.

Just before we collide, she launches herself into a flip above me. I wait to listen for the sound of her landing, but there's nothing.

With a scowl, I whip around. There's a small crack and pop, and then nothing.

She isn't there. All there is that even hints at her is the heavy white wisps of smoke fading away and the remains of a broken shell on the ground.

Of course. A deku nut. I don't even know why I hadn't already been expecting one. Well I am now.

I don't know where she is, although I have a bad feeling she's at my back, where I can't guard.

Her Sheikah gear must've helped to mask her footsteps, because I never heard her land from her flip. And now I'll never be able to hear her behind me. She could be behind me right now, and I'd be none the wiser. It'd be so easy for her to slip one of her knives to my throat and demand surrender. I can't meet her stealth, and with whatever my style of fighting is, I'm useless in fending against her sneak attack. All I'm doing now is wasting time and leaving myself vulnerable. I need to do something now, try to catch her if I can. Cornering myself against a wall would negate attacks from behind, but I don't know if I should box myself into that situation. There's got to be something else I can do. Up against a wall can be my last resort.

I need to catch her off guard, but she's already proven how quick she can be.

I don't have time to waste pondering my move, I've got to go now. There isn't time in battle for this amount of consideration. If she's leaving me to my thoughts, then she's toying with me.

I position my sword to make sure I won't stab myself before executing a backflip, looking to see her behind me, like a shadow.

There she is, and I try to slash at her, but all I do is graze her arm before she makes space between us.

My adrenaline's really going now, it pumps through me in the still silence, urges me to keep moving.

I see her eyes flash, taunting me. Come and catch me. There's probably a "fairy boy" too.

I grit my teeth. I'm nowhere near as fast as her, and let's face it... as coordinated. So far I've been lucky, landing those flips with muscle memory. But she's had more training while I've been wasting away in the woods. And it shows.

I launch myself towards her, and I already know she'll dart to the side. This time, I use her evasiveness to my advantage, I "miss" with my front attack and sweep to the side, grazing her again.

My world erupts into pain, starting in my side and spreading through my body. I can already feel the blood.

I glare at her. Does this even count as a stab wound? It isn't in the same place as all my others, but it's too close for comfort. I've got to guard myself better.

"If you're playing dirty I am too." The princess retorts, blood's streaming down her arm from my attacks, but they're like paper cuts in comparison to the bloody gash in my side.

"I thought you said I'd help you train."

Doesn't training come with pointers and tips and being helpful? This is just a free-for-all and so far we've been trying to kill each other from the looks of it.

"What did you think this was going to be like?"

"Um... how about more friendly? This sparring match is turning deadly. I thought you wanted pointers."

"From you?" She laughs out loud at that, her stance relaxes, "You don't know anything about the Sheikah art. If I really needed help, I would've gone to Impa."

"Are you kidding?" Great. I'm annoyed again. I'd thought she'd wanted my help- although I hadn't known why she'd picked me. But I get it now. I'm a dud at fighting nowadays, I'm some easy practice for her Majesty. This "training session" isn't for training, it just justifies the princess beating me up.

"What's the big deal? You need all the practice you can get sparring with someone. This is beneficial for the both of us." She has a hand on the hip, a knife in the other.

It may be, I don't know. The stew's starting to boil though. What's her deal? Geez... she's not just controlling, apparently she's manipulative too.

As I'm about to respond, I hear a commotion coming from the entrance, loud and panicked.

The princess and I meet eyes and the argument fades away, forgotten. Together, we hurry over to where a crowd is beginning to gather. I ignore the protest from my newest wound, dropping my weapons so I can press a hand into the cut to try and stop the flow of blood.

Zelda pushes through the crowd and I follow in her wake, mind alight with questions. What's going on? Is there another attack?

At the center of the crowd is a very distraught Goron, strong but battered.

Dohean's pushing through the crowd as well, eyeing Zelda and I as he begins his inquiry.

"What's this? The Gorons never wanted a part in the alliance." Even despite the seemingly dire circumstances, Dohean's still as friendly as he ever is, cutting right to the meat with a voice as sharp as a knife.

"I-i'm not here for that. Listen, Kakariko's under attack again."

Again? Kakariko's really been handed the short end of the stick lately. Is the enemy force greater? Will it be even more of a massacre this time? And there's something else too... another concern.

Zelda's eyes aren't wide like most of the other spectators. Rather, they're narrowed in thought- and suspicion. Could this just be a real? No. I can't- won't believe it. Darunia may not know me well now, but I remember how he was. He'd never do that. Not only has he told me he _hates_ the Gerudo, but he's the stubbornest Goron there is. I'd expect the Zoras to betray us first. But still... my own suspicions are forming.

"Is it larger?"

"I don't know. But they're going to need all the help they can get." He's adamant, and there's a new edge in his voice as he urges Dohean. I don't like it. But maybe it's just Zelda's groundless worries in my head.

"Since when did the Gorons become involved? Last I knew, Darunia made it very clear the Gorons were staying out of any alliances." The general's impatient, interrogating our messenger.

The Goron's purple eyes narrow in determination. "Well we're helping now. Are you going to ignore this warning?"

"Fine." He turns from the Goron, addressing the cluster of soldiers standing around."Soldiers, anyone who's fit to fight, suit up now and actually march to Kakariko this time."

There's a bunch of "yes sirs" as they scatter back to the armory.

I stand there, not knowing what to do. Dohean made it clear he doesn't want me out on the battlefield again, but don't desperate times call for desperate measures?

Zelda's already to him, and I get up behind her to listen.

"Let me fight."

"Zelda! I don't have time for this foolishness! I've said no, and it's still a no. Stop wasting time. You're staying put here." He yells, this is the first time I've ever heard him blow up. Dohean's been mad at me before, but never lost his cool demeanor.

"Please, I am your queen and I demand you t-"

"Shut it. You're no ruler."

"Hey Dohean- uh... I mean General sir, is this a good time?" I blurt out, and I see Zelda look at me in surprise. There's frustrated tears in her eyes.

He may have been seething with anger last time but he is anger now, as volatile and caustic as Death Mountain.

"Can I go fight too? We can go together. She can handle herself out there." I gesture to Zelda, wondering why I decided to do this. Not only am I standing up for the princess, but I'm making a close-call by messing with an angry Dohean.

"No," he practically inhales the word through clenched teeth, his mask of calm returns to his face and he walks away, calling out orders.

"What was that for?"

It's a mumble, but I can still hear her. My head's still turned away as I respond.

"Don't sparring partners help each other out? I was just giving ole' Dohean some pointers." I whip my head back to her, and she shrinks away from my gaze, "What? Geez... did you think I was trying to be nice?"

"Oh."

_Great job Link. What a nice guy._

That was a jerk move, my retort. Maybe I was being nice, but it was just surface level, it didn't mean anything deeper.

Still... I can't help but feel I should apologize.

———

All the able-bodied soldiers are gone, trailed off the Kakariko in straight lines, marching off into the distance. Dohean went with them too, leaving one of the knights in his stead.

I'm standing with Zelda by the opening to the field, the tiny specks of soldiers are disappearing up the stairs.

She wanted to fight. Heck, even I did. I may not like it here for the most part, but I'm not heartless.

My eyes scan past Castletown, trying to not think of the massacre the Hylians are in for. It's overcast, but the sun peeks out of light grey clouds. It's windy too. I notice I still have a hand clenched in the fabric of my tunic. Huh. It's soaked through with blood, but I feel disconnected from the pain and the feeling. I'm back in Kakariko again.

I glance up again, away from my stained tunic- around my third pair- looking at Zelda. She's oblivious to the world, eyes fixated forward, towards the raging battle and the ruins of her castle, a husk of her childhood home. She seems distant too, somewhere else.

In the silence save for the wind and the chatter of panic in the background, there's a scream out of nowhere.

I come back to full awareness, already running back to the sound of the scream.

"I knew it." Zelda's voice comes from behind me, concerned but not surprised.

So she was right to worry after all.

The Goron who came to warn us is heading over to the group of Gerudos, jumping down from the wall, already ready to kill. Monsters are coming too, though slower. I can see some swarming to the entrance, ready to do the only thing their simple little minds can do. Kill.

So this is what betrayal feels like.


	21. To the end of the world

There isn't time to feel the true pain of the Gorons' betrayal. There's not time to do anything.

I've already rushed head on into the ranch, seeing the attackers coming closer, towards the princess. I dart over to my sword and shield I'd been using earlier, still discarded and forgotten on the ground.

How are we supposed to fight them and still stand a chance? It seems impossible. We've gotten lucky with our victory at Kakariko, but then everyone was largely uninsured. And now, most of our remaining soldiers are at Kakariko, fighting off another attack. I know without a doubt the Gorons must be helping, so it's another threat. How are any of us getting out this alive? A majority of the soldiers here are in no condition to fight. This won't be pretty, even more of a massacre this time.

I survey the terrain, trying to think of some half-baked plan of anything. It's utter desperation at this point, that's what fuels me now.

Injured by healing soldiers are emerging from the infirmary, ready to face another wave of enemies. They're really in no shape to fight, at least if they really want to wreak some havoc. But this is all we've got. For Farore's sake... we're screwed.

The knight left to play general for this camp of injured soldiers is already shouting orders. His voice is loud, but I can hear the nervousness. No one would have expected this. Well, except for Zelda. I hate to admit it, but I should've heeded her warning more and trusted my suspicions. But it's too late to change that.

In the clamor and noise, I see some stalfos getting too close for comfort.

I get ready to fight, even though my wound protested. I can barely feel the pain though, hyper-focused on the situation.

One of them jumps at me with its jagged sword, but I block with my shield. These hulking skeletons may look intimidating, but they're just pushovers. The only time I remember getting dealt a fierce blow from them was that pair on the way out of Ganon's Tower with Zelda. That was in the stress of the moment, I didn't have time to guard well, I just had to get right up in their skeletal faces.

That feels uncannily familiar to now, with the same energy, fast and anxious, there's no time to waste. The princess is here too, although she's ready to help me this time. No longer stuck in a ring of fire, waiting for me to save her. I now know from personal experience that she's competent, my stab stands as a testament to that. ... I need to wrap that up later.

I counterattack, slashing at his exposed and hollow rob cage. The bone marrow cracks and snaps from my contact, hairline fractures splintering across a few of the ribs.

The pile of bones, as you might expect, is as stupid as a like-like. Wait. No. _Stupider_ than a like-like. He decides to attack again at me, but I perform the same block and counterattack scheme. Shame. He's the one who's practically walking into my sword.

After a few more hits of the same procedure, the skeleton crumples to then ground in a large pile of bones.

I see Zelda's almost done with the other stalfos too. Okay, now what? The two we fought are only a fraction of the monsters still pouring into the place, clogging the exit as they look for something to kill. We were already overwhelmed and outnumbered from the beginning, but this force is enormous.

They'll trap us in here and kill us all.

"Link!" The substitute general yells at me. I nod my head to show I'm listening, but keep my eyes on the horde of enemies.

"I want you to take the princess and get the heck out of here!"

"What?!"

"NOW!"

At that I start. He's serious about it. I've got to get her out of here. Now.

I slide the sword into its sheath as fast as I can, grabbing the princess' hand. I take off, heading right into a cluster of a mixed variety of monsters. I can feel her grip on my hand tighten as I pull her through the jumbled mess.

Somehow, I get her out of immediate harm, out into the vast field. We've got to go somewhere. Where? Where is it going to be safe?

My mind is overloaded and I don't know. I don't know what to do.

"Link... we need to find a safe place." She practically pleads, her voice a whisper.

I manage to nod, feeling so removed from my body, it's hard to get the specific jerk of my head. I'm preoccupied on the impending death of everyone. There's no time.

I shove those thoughts back and take off running to the place I'd tried so hard to return to before.

———

We're nearly to the beginnings of the forest when I feel Zelda's hand jerk away from mine, making me stumble from the sudden change.

I turn my head towards her, so stressed, my irritation blooming as I wonder why'd she let go now. We're so close to our best chance of safety.

She's in a battle stance, her back to me. I don't understand why until I look past her and see a group Gerudos coming after us. As if this could get any worse.

I guess I love to prove myself wrong.

They've all got bows in their hands, and soon enough they'll be within firing range. I have to get her out of the open and into the forest. Then we can have a chance of getting away, I'll find us someplace safe to hide and then I can try to comprehend and decide what my next move should be.

"Zelda!" I break my habit and call her by name. She jumps at my voice, as if now she's finally realizing the weight of our situation.

"It's no use trying to fight them," I say, almost in defeat, already heading towards the Lost Woods. The princess comes silently to my side, and I lead the way into across the bridge and under the cover of trees, the green foliage comes to life around us.

I have no intention of gaining the attention of the Kokiri, but I can hear them calling my name as I start to scale the vines.

"I'm sorry... no time." I call out. The realization comes to me as I pull myself to the top of the ledge, "They're coming, find somewhere to hide."

I don't have any time left to explain further, I see their eyes widen with fear below, and they're all still. I can't stay though, I don't know how soon the Gerudo will slip into the forest as well. There's no reason to risk it, they at least know there's a threat.

The air in the woods is dense, and it's hard to breathe. My heart's going too fast for me to keep up. So is my brain. The flight to the forest was a blur and the beginning of the day has been reduced to a blurry blob in my head.

For right now, I'm just trying to get to my tree. But is that deep enough? Sure, this forest is a labyrinth and there's a good chance the Gerudo will get disoriented and lost, but maybe not.

We're in the earlier portion of the Lost Woods, the trees haven't grown as tall or as dense as they do deeper in. I feel so exposed without the plants closing in around me. The paranoia of them on our tail is at an all time high.

As my anxiety is winding down, an arrow whizzes right into my back, bringing on the paranoia and the pain at full force.

"Run." I whisper.

I don't even get to see the band of Gerudo emerge through the hollow log and the trees. All I can do is run.

Arrows fly by us, while others graze or embed into my body. I try to block them with my shield, but it's hard to do when while running. Zelda's been hit too, but we don't bother to pull the arrows out, our focus is on escaping. Besides, the arrows might be helping some in limiting the blood flow.

The panic seems to have no end, and I start trying to take more obscure turns, twisting deeper into this maze of trees and undergrowth.

But even with all that, they're keeping apace, despite their upbringing in a treeless and sandy wasteland.

The pain starts to demand more attention for me, coming back with sharp flat hits that reverberate throughout me. My head feels like it's full of rocks and my coordination is dissolving. I've got to get us somewhere quick.

There is one place, one place I know would be easy to get lost in. But no. I had promised to myself I'd never go back. I can't. I don't want to. I never want to see that sky again.

"Is there anywhere we can go? Please..." the words come out of the princess, breathy and weak. We're slowing down big time, and the Gerudos are still trailing after us- even though I tried my darnedest to lose them.

"I'm not going back there." I mutter, a verbal reply to my thoughts.

"Where?"

"I'm not going there. _We're_ not going there." My words, even weak and choppy, shoot out of my mouth with force. I can't go back.

I'd rather run to the end of the forest, heck, the end of the world before I'd set foot in that place again. But we're going to tire and be killed eventually. My strength's sapped, gone from injury and anxiety.

There's a cry of pain, and I see a Gerudo has the back of the princess' cowl knotted in her hands, pressing a knife to her neck. Zelda's face is as expressionless as she can make it, but I see the fear in her eyes.

"Get your hands off her." I growl.

Why did I say that? I don't know... but I can't worry about it now. The Gerudo's amber eyes flicker with slight amusement.

"Fine."

She releases Zelda, who stumbles towards me, blood pooling in the narrow slice on her throat.

I get out my sword, jumpy with impatience and nerves. There's no way I can wrap this fight up before her accomplices show up. I'll just have to injure her well enough to impair her.

All she's got is a knife and her bow and quiver. That bow's useless in close proximity, and that knife won't allow her to attack from away. It should be easy.

She rushes at me, ready to shank me.

I meet her with my sword, and even that within itself is exhausting. She's pushing against my blade, trying to get through. My sword's heavy now in my hand, as my body grows lethargic.

There's no other weapon on her as far as I can tell, and all her concentration is on holding my sword back. My shield hand tightens around the handle.

Without trying to draw attention to my sudden movement, I maneuver my arm up and bash her on the head, letting my concentration slip from my sword. The Gerudo passes out cold, her knife sliding down my shoulder and chest as she crumples to the ground.

I look back at Zelda, the blood's formed beads, like some grotesque necklace, waiting to fall.

I sign, so exhausted and yet restless. Her eyes are pleading again.

"Please.."

"... Fine." I feel my heart palpitate, submitting to the princess' will once again,"Fine."

I take a quick glance back over my shoulder, seeing the unconscious woman, the rest of the forest waiting. We've got some time.

I keep going as fast as I can, dreading the moment I have to go back, the fall into oblivion.

The forest is growing deeper and larger, gone are the smaller, cube-shaped pockets of forest. The trees stretch seemingly endlessly into the sky. The forest becomes greener, the trees cover up the sky and a soupy mist clings to the plants.

We're close, I can almost feel it, the heaviness. Oh Hylia... why did it have to come to this?

I almost run into a tree stump smack dab in the middle of a clearing, short and stubby. As I further examine it, I can feel the blood draining from my face.

Something's been carved into it, old now, the bark grown with vines and moss, but there's no mistaking the crude sketch of a boy with my bangs and a sword, a belt diagonal across his chest. The two specks that I recognize as fairies. And a skull kid- the skull kid. The four oddly shaped silhouettes in the background just confirm it, with their spindly legs and stubby arms. There's a sickly tingly feeling in me I'm trying to ignore.

I jerk my head back up, the princess is watching me. And to my chagrin, her eyes, the windows to her soul, are chock full of concern, _oozing_ it.

"Come on. Almost there." I keep my tone serious, leading the way once again. The stump stays in my memory, and even though Zelda might have the right idea, I can't help but regret. I vowed to never come back. I don't want to see it again. I have no choice though. He told me to get her somewhere safe. But I'm only doing it for the princess' safety. If I were alone and on the run, I'd tough it out in a tree, even in my condition.

The three stumps appear in the gloom, still with their parasitic neighbors, the mushrooms, clinging to their bark. I start up the first one, making my way across the natural pathway. Back when I'd come here on mistake, back when I didn't know anything. I was fresh out of time travel, I had yet to remember fully my deeds in the future. This was just a small quest gone wrong. I'd originally jumped these stumps with such agility and ease, flipping across. But not now, the arrows are still sticking to me and I'm in no mood for it anyway.

I pause near the entrance in the tree trunk, dark and looming. The hole fades into darkness as it reaches down into the depths of the earth. I don't know how far down it goes, and I really don't ever want to find out.

Zelda's caught up with me, and she lingers by my shoulder, probably waiting for me to initiate something. I can't seem to form words, eyes boring holes into the darkness, getting sucked back into that world.

"Are we going to jump?" Her voice is low and somber, as if she can sense my mood, even as I try to disguise it, putting on the only mask I have left.

I nod, readying myself for the fall. The princess grabs onto my hand as she pushes off the bark, pulling me down as the floor seems to drop me out into nothingness with her. My hand is so stiff against hers, crushing her hand in mine.

All loses meaning as the fall drags out into infinity. Taking me back. To Termina.


	22. Back in Nightmare Land

I feel something soft underneath me as I open my eyes, blinking in the dim light of an unfamiliar place. But it feels like I've been here before. That's when the pain flares up out of nowhere.

It takes me by surprise, and I bite my tongue to keep from crying out in pain. Geez... what did I do?

I slowly sit myself up, feeling something that was dug into my back, up near my shoulder blades. I bring my hand to the spot, and feel the shaft of an arrow embedded in me, the wood snapped and splintery to the touch.

The pain is overwhelming, and as I look around, I realize where I know this place from, what I landed on, the small pool of water laps in slow waves against the soft petals. The memories of this place are seared into my head, and no matter how hard I've tried to forget it all... they're still so clear, and they come on fast, pelting me like raindrops. More like hail though, since it's more than something light, they sting.

My vision twists and turns in lazy circles, and I see the princess lying in an unconscious heap next to me, face down. I don't want to be alone down here, not again. I tentatively reach for her shoulders to shake her awake. Amidst the hail in my mind, I hope she'll wake up. I don't know what I'll do if she's out cold. The way into the town is impossible in our forms anyway... its platforms over another endless pit. I really didn't think this through. Well, I did think enough to decide I didn't want to go here. But we were desperate.

I feel her startle into wakefulness, picking herself off the ground, looking about as good as I feel- which is to say horrible.

"Are we?" I know what she's asking. I don't know if we're safe. I'd rest easier once we're in town, as ironic as that is.

"We need to get out of here."

I stand myself up, which exerts me more than I expected, doubling over from the pain, stars crackling in my eyes. But I keep myself upright, trying to breathe through the unrelenting waves from the buried arrowheads in me and the other cuts and gashes and bruises.

Zelda pulls herself up too, not doubling over but with a sickly pallor to her skin.

This is exactly why we need to get out of here. If the Gerudos were still managing to keep up, they'll end up down here soon. We're definitely in no condition to fight, they'll kill us if we run into them again. That wretched town will be our savior out of the very real possibility of death. The odds aren't looking too good though.

Since I'm the only one of the two of us who's fallen down here before, I lead, wading through the water until I reach solid ground. It's excruciating, but I push through it. The two torches have long been unlit from the looks of it, but the two spotlight beams of dim light still stream down, making a circle on the ground. Somehow we make it out of there, through the dark tunnel and to the platforms, reaching down into the gloom.

Normally, because of her Sheikah training, Zelda might have been able to make at least the first jump, but she's too injured for even that. As far as I can tell, there's no way for us to get across. I don't have any of the masks anymore. Those lunar children wanted them so bad, I didn't want them. I would've hidden them somewhere anyway, left to be forgotten. They wouldn't have any use where I was headed anyway. Back to Hyrule.

"How'd you get across this?" She's staring across the cavern and at the entrance.

"I flew."

"Shut up. Stop kidding around." Her voice lowers in anger, betraying her crummy mood.

"I wish I was."

My eyes meet the form of wood near the end of the room. It's still here, twisted in agony, slowly rotting deeper into its depression. That was my first taste of this place's flavor, the permeation and prevalence of death. This ain't no Hyrule. If I still had that poor Deku Scrub's Mask, maybe we could find a way across, but as things are right now, we're out of luck.

I open my pouch, trying to look for something that could get us out of here. My hookshot's there, but it wouldn't grab a hold onto the flower or the ground. Nothing else in there seems to serve any use for us. Guess we'll just rot and bleed out down here like the Deku Scrub. Goody. I'd rather be driven through by the Gerudo's knife, that'd be a quicker death than the way things are going.

I'm about to cinch the pouch back up again when I feel my fingers brush the cool ceramic of the ocarina. Would they still work? The warp songs I learned in Hyrule have lost their power, faded away. But I don't know about this place, I tried to not think about it.

Well... we're desperate at this point. I pull out the ocarina, seeing my reflection gravely staring back at me through the blue glassy surface.

"Hey," I turn to Zelda, who has an irritated look on her face, despite the circumstances, "you need to hold onto me, okay?"

Zelda does her signature sign, put still listens to me, wrapping her arms around the least injured spot she can find on my chest. It's really awkward being this close to her, but I push my focus to getting the holy Hylia out of here.

How'd that song go again? I've got the mouthpiece against my lips and my fingers hover of the holes. I can hear it in my head, feeling the feathers and the wings and the nauseating spin.

Before I can get too deep into my memories, I start up the short tune, clumsy but still clear, loud against the almost eerie silence. It echoes and reverberates against the walls, and I can hear as the ocarina's magic begins to flow again, the song still ringing in the air. Zelda's arms tighten around me.

The cavern starts to fade away, deepening into a crimson red. So they're still active after all, it's as if I can see the owl statues laid out over the land, waiting for me to channel the magic through one and send me to it's location. I push the magic towards the town one, feeling wind whipping and whirling around us from nowhere.

I feel the feathery wings pop out behind us, enveloping us in the plush feathers as we spin, faster and faster till we pass out of this plane of existence and spun somewhere else.

———

It's disorienting to land somewhere still as the world spins around. And into the hustle and bustle too, out of the dead silence down below.

"That wasn't really flying you know." I hear Zelda retort at me, snarky and annoyed.

But I ignore her, blinking and gaining my balance. The stone statue, carved into an owl, stands as still as always with its wings out by its side, less pristine than I remember. It's succumbed to age, cracked in some places, a vine creeping up the stone platform the bird is perched upon, but it remains.

The sounds of the town fill around us, and everything is ghastly familiar and yet different. The Clock Town I remember must've been a ghost of this version, but to me, this normal place seems more like the phantasm.

It's around the afternoon here, and I look up to see the clocktower looming over me. Beyond it, up into the sky, the sky is a clear blue, but I can still see its face, grimacing down at the world. I can't unsee it, the moon's sunken red and orange eyes boring into my chest.

"We've got to get these arrows out of us,"

I can barely hear Zelda over the voices and the blood pumping in my head, consuming me.

Without a thought, my mouth gates open and I can't tear my eyes away from the monstrosity in the sky that is no longer there.

A hand on my shoulder snaps my gaze down to surface level, my mind lost within itself.

"Did you hear what I said?" Her voice retains the snark, but I can tell she's shaken by my behavior. Her eyes seem to always be filled with worry around me, for me. Why?

I can see town locals staring at us strangely as they walk in and out of the north section of town. My skin crawls with nerves, we need to find somewhere to go. There's the inn, but neither Zelda or I have any rupees on us. Maybe we can sneak inside later, I've done it before. Wasn't too hard. But still... we don't have a room key.

My eyes drop from the crowd and down to the ground, drifting to my hand. Wait. Something clicks in my brain, and I pull my gauntlet off, seeing the stamp staring up at me, still as red as ever. But instead of feeling scorn, I'm thinking. I don't remember how much I had in my account, but it'll be enough for a room. Some bandages too. Maybe new clothes.

I turn away from the statue and the stairs leading up to the narrow, grassy strip on the north of town.

I know the bank's on the west side, so I start walking to the right, still near the clock tower.

It's almost scary how familiar it all is. For the first day or so, maybe the second, the people of this town were in denial about everything, rushing to prepare a festival. But all they were doing was waiting for their death.

The big, open space at the top of the curved street is relatively empty. The street that winds back to the south however, isn't as clear of people. I can feel their eyes on me and the princess as we make it down the side of the road with stairs until I see who I'm looking for.

The banker's still here, in his little hole of a bank, his stall out of place amidst the shops on the street. I remember how disorienting it was to see this guy when I arrived, in Castletown he's the local homeless guy, a beggar under the stairs.

As usual, his stall is empty save himself. I walk over, trying not to draw too much attention to myself, but it's inevitable. There's arrows sticking out of me for Din's sake, not to mention my bloody appearance.

"Er... may I help you?" Even the copy of the homeless guy is repulsed, wrinkling his nose at the sight of me.

"I've come to withdraw from my account."

His eyes narrow and he raises a red eyebrow, his face barely visible under his overgrown bangs.

"I've never seen you before. There's no way you'd even _have_ an account... much less be able to access one. You'd need a sta-"

I hold up my hand, displaying the mark. I watch as he blanches, gaping his mouth.

"You were saying?" I ask, an edge in my voice.

His face is still stricken but he seems to have forgotten what he was just saying moments ago.

"What amount?"

"Uhh... I don't remember how much I had." I say, scouring my head for an answer, but I come up dry.

I know I tried to deposit before the world ended, and somehow the banker kept every last rupee. Even if I travelled back. I never found out how that happened, and I'm not looking to find out now, but it always just struck me as odd.

"I'll have to check... I haven't used the stamp color for a long time,"

He disappears into the darkness of the shop, and Zelda and I wait, people finding their way around us.

It takes a few minutes, but the man returns, a roll of paper in his hand.

"You had the max limit deposited." He seems surprised, that an injured, frantic nobody like myself could even obtain that amount of cash.

I don't know what the max is, but I'll just take out a thousand rupees to be make sure we have enough for our expenses.

"I'll take a thousand."

He quickly goes to get the rupees, returning with a pouch. I can tell he wants me to leave. I just empty the ten silver rupees into my own pouch.

"Where now?"

"First the inn, from there... I don't know."

I have the map to this place ingrained inside my head, gouged in my mind. I take the quickest way to the opposite side of town, which is more open than the narrow west end. The tunnel opens up right next to the inn, with the colorful door lined in green. Real memorable.

"This it?"

"Yeah." I wanted to add that I wanted to be out of the open, these crazy people are staring at us and we stick out like sore thumbs. But that sounds weak to point out. I don't really care.

The small inn's even sparser than when I was here, which makes sense. I came in the days before their carnival.

The clock that's a smaller version of the one on the tower is ticking, which only spurs on my worry more. The masks hanging on the wall over a green couch don't help.

"Hey mom someone's here," The voice takes me by surprise, and I see a boy peeking through the opening behind the desk. As I expected, his eyes narrow when he sees the gore splattered over me. Geez... this place has gotten rude since I last saw it. And there were already rude people here before!

"I'm coming Keaton,"

The lil' punk's still giving me a look, so I pull one back, sticking out my tongue at him. Someone appears behind him and I cut the act, putting on a mature face.

"Sorry for the wait."

It's Anju. And boy... has she aged. She doesn't look old, but older... if that makes any sense. She's definitely been through the years, and although she looks tired, she's smiling.

"It's fine, uh... I'd like to get a room," I glance over to see Zelda next to me, "for two, please."

"Would the Knife Chamber be okay? There's some empty bunks in the other room if you'd prefer."

I want the Knife Chamber. I am definitely not sleeping in a room with strangers, I'm already back in this strange world and I'd rather have some privacy. As morbid as the name for the room is, there's not a knife to be found in there. It's the preferable room by far.

"I'll go with the Knife Chamber,"

"Okay, that'll be fifty rupees a person, how many days will you be staying with us?" I can see her examining our less than stellar appearances, trying to ignore it.

Sweet merciful Din... I didn't know staying here was so expensive. But I have enough cash. I don't know how long we're staying though... I never thought far enough ahead to even consider staying here at first. I'll just say one for now, it won't hurt anything I can always pay more to stay longer.

"We don't know, can we just have one night for now?" She nods, about to hand over the room key when Zelda intercepts.

"Excuse me, do you know where we can get bandages or clean clothes?"

Anju bites her lip in thought, giving the key to me.

"Well... I can give you some cloth for bandages, the Trading Post has some potions you can use for first aid. Clothes... hmm, I'd ask someone in town."

"Oh okay, thank you miss."

"Anytime. Enjoy your stay."

I leave the waiting room and start up the stairs. The waning light shines through the high windows, and I find our room, the middle of the three doors in the upstairs hallway.

The key clicks in and I open up the Knife Chamber.

I've only been in it once before, but the layout is unchanged as far as I can remember. The damaged wall however, has been fixed, the wallpaper covers up the drywall.

"I call the green bed."

I don't sit on it yet though, I'd probably get blood on it.

"Fine. I'll have the flowery one."

"Do you just want to run over to the Trading... uh... the store?" Zelda asks, still by the door.

"Sure, might as well." We're still standing, miraculously, so we should just get our first aid equipment before I crash from exhaustion.

It feels so odd to be back here, and with someone else... the princess no less. Hopefully this visit is less than three days this time. Because that felt like an eternity.


	23. Patched up

As you might expect, Nightmare Land has its fair share of nightmares. In sleep and in wakefulness.

After the princess and I went out on the town- an enthralling experience, by the way- we retired to the room in clean clothes and started to patch ourselves up.

———

Those arrows bit back when we had to pull them out, the heads of them ripping up more skin coming out.

"Do you mind?" I snark at her.

Neither of us are medics, at all, but we managed to wrap up our wounds. The pain is the worst part by far, mixed with how quickly our first coating of bandages saturates with blood.

I swear... how is that stuff gushing out so much? The blood seems to have surpassed the amount that should be healthy.

Zelda ignores me, taking off the soaked bandages, dyed a deep red. The first batch only lasted for around an hour, the sun hasn't even completely set yet, still hanging onto the dregs of the day.

Anju didn't give us enough bandages, we're already running low, but I guess we'll use these until we run out.

There's a bowl on the table next to Zelda, filled with water and a cloth to clean off the blood. The water stings as it makes contact with my once again infuriated skin, trying to douse the fire in my body. I'll have to redo her bandages next. We've both degraded to the point of barely hanging on, and I know my eye bags look like bruises too. My feeling of panic has yet to subside, running on empty back in this familiar nightmare. I know it sounds stupid, that thing in the sky is long gone, and even if it wasn't, I'd be fine. Why does that sound like a lie?

After the damp cloth, I can feel her slathering the red potion lotion onto the wound on my back, and then onto the rest of them. Against the raw pain of the multiple holes in my body, the goo is as cool and as full of relief as I remember. If I can focus on that I can ignore the feeling of this place that still haunts it, the same and yet so different.

"Okay, your turn to play medic."

I slip out of my thoughts, gingerly inching my body off the bed and onto the chair.

Thankfully, she only got cuts on her arms, I was the one who mainly felt the wrath of those Gerudos. Oh, and there's the slice on her neck.

She starts to roll up her sleeves, and I see her's are soaked with blood too.

I get to work untying the cloth- much gentler than her, I might add. The one on her throat was wrapped up too, but the blood's mostly clotted, although I can see some new beads forming between the forming scab, not to mention the dried blood still practically smeared across her neck like a grotesque second mouth. A bloody mouth.

I reach to get the cloth soaking in water, which has already been stained scarlet from my own wounds.

I start to mop up the blood on her, feeling her arm muscles tense against the pain, eyes squeezed shut.

In the silence, my mind travels through town, watching people disappear as those three days ticked on. Some remained, even as their death was clear in the sky. They'd been in denial at first, still in a hurry to get their carnival ready, but they all crumbled eventually, seeing their fate as it crashed into the earth. And they all had to accept it.

I go through that hole in the wall that's since been patched up, seeing the doomed couple, awaiting their death together. The swordsman- who looks exactly like that weird guy in the desert- huddled up behind that block of wood, shaking with terror. Then at that ranch, where Cremia let Romani have some Chateau Romani, accepting that nowhere in this accursed land is safe from Majora's wrath.

That final cycle, I remember, I'd only done one final good deed, all my others forgotten. I'd reunited the two lovers, then gone up to the tower for a final stand-off. I remember how scared I was. Not of death, I'd died before in this purgatory and I always got sent back to the beginning, only scarred by the memories. No, I was scared the Oath to Order wouldn't work, that the moon was stronger still than those Giants, that even with all my hard work and all those three days, stuck in a panic and haunted by that hanging sword in the sky, I'd still be sent back. Again. That fear consumed me, I remember how much my legs quivered on that platform, seconds away from death, fumbling to get the ocarina's notes out.

Even if it's been ten or eleven years since then, it still hangs around, stronger now back in its land of origin.

I barely pay attention as I set the even redder cloth back into the bowl, scooping some potion lotion out of its bottle. I slather it across her cuts, my mind still so far away from here, scattered all over this land. And there's a small part of me back home too, wondering in the back of my mind what's happened since we left.

A hand on mine jolts me back to the hotel room, glancing up to see the princess looking at me with those eyes... it's always those eyes.

"You okay? I can wrap my arms if you want." That lilt in her voice puts me off more, that sad, worried lilt.

"Fine." I state, already reaching for the roll of cloth.

I can feel her narrowed eyes on me as I focus on her arms, wrapping the bandage around each cut and double-knotting it. I'm pretty clumsy at this, but I manage to get them on tight enough.

It's even darker now by the time I finish, the room fading into darkness as the the night arrives.

I don't know if Zelda's hungry, but I don't think I'd be able to eat. I don't want to do anything. Sleeping won't help, it'll only bring me back, but Zelda and I are both exhausted. If we do cross paths with the Gerudo here- if they did manage to get this far- we need to be ready to meet them again.

"You hungry?" I ask, about to collapse onto my bed with my boots still on.

She shakes her head, "I'd rather sleep."

My sentiments exactly.

———

I don't know if I should be relieved by not being able to find sleep.

The sun's long gone by now, and the world is silent, asleep- except for me.

Even laying down, my muscles are so tense and my heart hammers in my chest, lying in wait for the evil to come. It's a nameless evil this time, no longer Majora and the moon. The darkness closes in around me, and I can barely make out the outlines of the room.

Would I rather be asleep now? I'd be caught in a restless sleep forced to face the ghosts of this land, but it'd be sleep nonetheless. I can't tell. My exhaustion is beyond exhaustion at this point, but I'm wide awake. So tired, but caught in wakefulness.

I keep telling myself I'm fine, but eventually all my words mix together into a meaningless mush. My heart won't slow down, making my ribs hurt.

Fine. Screw sleep. Guess I'll be an absolute wreck tomorrow.

I slide out of the bed, careful not to wake up Zelda. She's in dire need of sleep, she was sleep deprived long before our fall here.

I make it to the door without so much as a peep, but the door squeaks slightly on its hinges. I pause, hand glued to the door, waiting until I'm sure no one heard, then I slip out the door and into the hallway.

It's equally dark as the room, and I stumble my way back towards the stairs, where the door to the balcony is. The floor is cool under my bare feet, and I make it to the door, which opens silently.

The night's a cloudy one, dark streaks blotting out the stars. A breeze whips at my hair and my clothes, biting my cheeks with a chill. But I welcome it, anything's better than that stuffy room.

But now that I think about it, coming out in the open was a stupid idea, for more than one reason.

If I was so paralyzed in my room, then it's gonna be a heck of a lot worse now. For the love of Nayru... I never think do I? I keep my eyes on the vacant street below, too stubborn to resign back to my bed and too worried to move my gaze up. I swear I can feel it's eyes on me, it's shadowing coming to cover all. But it's fine.

Another concern, one that seems a lot more rational that the other one, is the very real possibility that being out in the open will only let us be found faster by our new favorite gang of redheads. I guess gingers just love me. Fun. If they show up now I'll be sure to give them a good time, a great midnight picnic.

But I bet all I'll get from that will be lying in a heap of my own gore on the street. I'll get a slit in the throat if I'm lucky. I bet they'll make whatever end they have in store for me extra long and painful though. Even easier when there's no weapon to my name on me right now. My breezy tunic and loose pair of trousers doesn't even constitute armor. I'll be screwed.

The street's perfectly empty from what I can tell though. Even if they ended up in here, I haven't seen a trace of them earlier when Zelda and I went out. Either they're still back in Hyrule or they've made themselves scarce in Clocktown. It's always a possibility they're rotting away down in that cavern. Or... better yet, they fell down into that dark abyss and there's no reason keeping us here. That might be too much to ask for. Just a smidge.

My hands are gripping the rough wooden rail, and I can feel the splinters biting into my palms.

What is the plan? I have a sneaking suspicion the Gerudos are alive and did follow us into town. I don't want to stay here more than I have to, and we won't be able to stay forever, I'll run out of rupees eventually. And Hyrule, what's happened? Has Ganondorf already incapacitated the Hylian forces? It won't be the end though, he'll always be hungry for more. Power, dominance, control. I still know what his end goal is, the Triforce and the Sacred Realm as his dominion.

Rip Hyrule to shreds to get all three sacred triangles under his grasp. He's definitely crazy enough to do it, heck, he's tried before. But I stopped him once and the Hylian guards held him off a second time. It's a third time now, and he has the upper hand over all of us, with his Gerudos, his monsters, and now the Gorons too. And yet there's still more he needs, I realize. Zelda and me, assuming we'd still be Triforce bearers.

So we really are on the run now, hunted. He'll flip Hyrule on its head looking for the two people who have exactly what he needs. He'd scour here too.

That just adds to the pit of dread pooling inside me. The other Link would've scoffed and called for a rematch, but me... I can barely manage a fight without getting stabbed, and those are lizalfos. I might've once been able to match his strikes and end him, but I can't imagine that being the case now.

I stay stuck in my spot, daring a glance toward the horizon, as low as I can make it without staring at the thatched roofs and the wall along the perimeter of town, enclosing the inhabitants from the field beyond.

I wonder if they even remember those three days that live such in infamy within my head. It's such a small, insignificant amount in the big picture, and the years have piled on top of each other during my absence. That's a strange thought. The things that follow in my shadow aren't even a thought in their heads. It was _three_ days. They had their carnival, there might've been a moon but it disappeared. They don't know the real weight of my actions, they don't know what I did at all. I don't care if they don't know, it just feels so weird. None of these people care, it might just be an interesting story to tell children nowadays.

I manage to shimmy my stiff hands off the wood, feeling small splinters of wood staying on my palms. I just try to wipe them off on my trousers, leaving the balcony and coming back to the room.

The door squeaks a little again, but I once again am undetected.

The bed feels odd, almost too soft, after however many minutes spent outside, gripping the rail like a lifeline, avoiding the sky. I sink down in the mattress, my head mashed into the pillow, once again stuck staring up at the ceiling.

I need to sleep now. I'll feel even worse tomorrow if I don't. Who cares about the nightmares? Some sleep, even restless, is still sleep.

I shut my eyes, seeing images appear against my eyelids. Here we go.

_I'm thrown into a nightmarish version of Clocktown, the town abandoned, a ghost town. The few souls that do remain are inside their homes, as if that could fend against that shockwave of an explosion, wiping out the whole map._

_It's the third day, and the world shakeswith agony as the moon comes closer. Everything seems painted in red, and I try to remember what I'm fighting for. What's the reason I'm doing this?_

_I've helped everyone here, and yet none of them will remember a thing. What's the point? I might fail to beat Majora again, and then I'll still be stuck._

_But I have to destroy that mask, that's my ticket out of here. I've tried to get out before, some ways more morbid that others, and yet it all sends me back to that first day, just out of the doors of the clock tower, the moon reset. It's all reset._

_I used to care once, I remember, for these people, but that's long gone. I just want out, a cowardly and selfish way out, but it's an escape. I've been to every corner of this world, and yet I'm forever a stranger, wandering the land like the dead in Ikana, waiting to be released from the purgatory that is this world._

_I feel my sight go blurry and then refocus, now on top of the clock tower, watching the Skull Kid levitating above me, the mask covering up his face, those eyes seem to glow, even under the shadow of the spherical monolith in the sky._

_The Skull Kid's giggling, and Tael's giving his cryptic dialogue, as he's batted away. All too soon the Skull Kid starts to scream, a dark aura coming to life around him, the noise threatens to rupture my eardrums, exploding into my mind._

_I hurry to grasp the ocarina, already slick with my nervous sweat. I can't fail again... I can't face these days again._

_As the scream continues the moon crashes faster, and the scream shatters my vision like glass, and everything disappears._


	24. Back to my old haunts

_Tonight, the shadows of my past have made another appearance. I wonder where it'll take me now._

_The cold bites at me and I can feel the wind whipping at me, threatening to send me down the cliff and into nothingness._

_The owl's perched on one of the stone pillars on the edge of the Goron Village, and I can see the entrance to the Shrine across the chasm. How does he expect to get me over there? I don't go over yet though, seeing the thick drifts of snow piling up on everything, a wet, icy mess in my hair and on my clothes._

_The air's so cold and empty and even though I know there must be souls near me, I've never felt so isolated. Heck, Tatl's floating around my head, the only light in the grey morning, and yet I could be the only person in this world._

_This cold desolate mountain is a shocking change from the muggy forest I'd just found my way out of, Woodfall. The only trees around here are sturdy pines, and they're sparse at that. The only others besides the Gorons that stay here are those two blacksmiths near the foot of the mountain, the blizzard whipping around us all._

_I don't know why I'm apprehensive to talk to the owl, but I keep trudging through the powdery snow, which soaks my boots._

_The owl starts a rapid fire conversation, and my mind seems to fill up with ice or freeze or something, because I can barely comprehend what he's going on about. Nasty shivers rack my body, my knees knock into each other as my teeth began to chatter, but I keep as much of a grip on it as I can, trying to thaw my head._

_He's going on and on about not being fooled by appearances and relying on my feelings to cross the emptiest space I've ever seen in my life. Is he trying to tell me something to get rid of me?_

_"I'm going to fly there now, so stay close behind. Remember, don't be daunted by appearances, the true path shall open before you as you trust your feelings. Ready?"_

_The owl begins to takes off as he spreads out his impressive wingspan, cleaving through the air towards the opening in the distance against the white and grey landscape._

_Tatl's muttering next to me about the mental state of said owl but I just take to keeping a close following distance, watching the pure white feathers falling. They hover in the air, which surprises me. I thought they'd fall into the bleak darkness below._

_It seems ridiculous, but he said to follow him. I try to collect all my courage, try to remind myself that there's no time to waste, and then I jump out into nothingness. My end starts to flash in my head but I land on something solid, still alive. My feet slide and I start to lose my balance, teetering on an invisible platform._

_I start to go faster, not wanting to leave the owl behind. The wind tries to push me off, and I start to slide more, losing my footing. Near the end of the path of feathers, I jump with too much speed, sliding across the whole icy platform, too fast to try and catch myself._

_I fall down into the chasm, the great opening in the earth, down to death. Everything passes into black, with flakes of snow blowing in my mind._

I snap awake, my heart runs on terror and for a second I forget that I'm out of there, that I don't have to start those days over again.

I'm drenched in a cold sweat, and I start to shake as I get out of the bed, my body tense.

I need to get out of here again.

———

It's still open, the Milk Bar. I'm in front of the door, the only building with its lights still on at the unholy hours of the night.

I remember they'd only let members order, and if that's the case then I'm out of luck, Romani's Mask is gone.

I still go in anyway, seeing some of the usuals I remember and some new.

Romani's here, it's crazy how much she looks like Malon, her red hair pulled back in a ponytail as she works behind the bar. Cremia isn't anywhere to be found, but I bet she's at the ranch.

There's a band on the stage farthest from the door, playing a mellow beat that adds to the ambience.

I make my way to the bar, expecting to be denied service. That'd be fine, I don't even know why I decided to come crawling back here.

"Hey, welcome to the Milk Bar," sounds like Malon too. Nicer though.

"Don't I need a membership?" I blurt out, watching people glance up from their bottles of milk and each other.

She starts laughing, "Oh, that policy's been changed, although we seldom tell anyone. And besides... it's happy hour time, we need all the customers we can get."

"So... what'll it be? There's Milk, twenty rupees, or our famous Chateau Romani, which is vintage and has just the right kick. All our milk is from my sister's ranch, so quality is practically guaranteed.

"It's happy hour now... so instead of the two hundred rupees for one glass of our Chateau Romani, you can have an all-you-can-drink, for three hundred."

Huh... guess the establishment changed a bit while I was gone. I might as well go with the happy hour deal.

It's so late, rationality seems to be all but out the window.

"I'll take the deal please," my hand's already in my pouch, and I pull out three silver rupees.

Romani smiles, taking my cash and grabbing a bottle from below the counter. She turns towards the wall, where there's jars of the stuff, now with taps.

"Here ya go sir, "

I grab the bottle of the famous Chateau Romani, cold to the touch. I take a sip, feeling the "kick" she was talking about. It seems to shoot through me, buzzing with energy.

I go headfirst, off the deep end, losing myself in the bottle. The haunts of the night seem to fade away, and it all becomes numb.

———

I walk dazed and disoriented across the street to Stockpot Inn, tweaking out of my mind off the Chateau Romani. Geez... I don't even remember how many bottles I must've had. Figures in the darkness form, and when I snap my eyes up the Moon glowers down at me, making terror mix with the magic milk already shot through my nerves. A headache starts to pound in my temple and behind my eyes as I stumble up the stairs and back to the room, running away from the menace in the sky. In my clumsy horror, I throw the squeaky door open and crash right into the table in the middle of the room. The vase of flowers on the table wobbles in the dark, but doesn't fall.

"Link?"

My eyes snap over to her silhouette, my vision swims and I start to see two.

"Huh?" I manage to slur out, unable to do much more, the buzz in my head and body are consuming me, and I can't even feel where my intoxicated body bashed into the table. It's eyes shoot through the ceiling, and the world seems to shake and pitch beneath me. What's happening?

I feel someone wrap their arms around me, and I start to tremble under their touch.

"Here, c'mon," she starts guiding me back to my bed, and I sit down on the edge of the bed.

My breaths are coming in short and images come out of the darkness, twisting into distorted shapes as I feel tears pool in my eyes. So I've officially lost it. I blame the milk.

I start to cry, which is the most embarrassing thing I've done in front of the princess yet. It supersedes even my fall from the roof and my horrible tries at sword fighting. Because now I truly am vulnerable.

I feel her arms shift as she moves my head down to rest on her shoulder. I'm too lost in everything to jerk away and tell her I'm fine. Peachy keen. It'd seem more of a lie than any other time I've answered with that. Here I am, the once great hero, cowering from things that aren't there anymore, crying into the princess' shoulder and soaking her shirt in my tears. I never wanted anyone to see me like this, especially not her.

She just cradles me, mute as my sobs are muffled against her.

I squeeze my eyes shut, but the phantoms follow me into my head, where they transform the whole of Termina into an even more nightmarish vision than I remember, taking out all the layers of humanity, replaced by darkness.

I don't know how long I'm like this, trapped in my head of horrors. Shame doesn't even register in my numb body, my nerves shot through from that ridiculous milk.

I wonder what Zelda's thinking, she must be so confused. My erratic flight back up to the room must've wake her up, and here I am completely off my rocker. I think it's safe to say I'm at my lowest point yet, and that bites.

Why's she still letting me cry into her? In all honesty, I've been so rude to her since I've come back, she should just let me drown in the covers by myself. It'd be fine. I need to toughen up, the milk's done something to me. It's the reason I'm like this now.

"I-I'm sorry, you don't have to do this." I whisper, my words blend with each other, muffled by her shirt.

"Just shut up, okay? It's alright,"

That only makes me cry more, embarrassingly enough. I don't get her. Zelda's such a conundrum. There'd be no hard feelings if she let me go, yet she seems so adamant on this.

In my haze, even I can sense there's questions on her tongue, but she never asks anything of me.

Eventually, drowsiness seems to wash over me, exhausted by crying and from sleep deprivation. My eyes hurt and my nose is all runny.

"Sorry. I destroyed that shirt, didn't I?"

"S'all right." her voice is barely audible, and I can sense a sob rising in her throat, bitter and raw.

My eyes droop on their own, and I start to crawl back over to the pillow, away from her on the edge of the bed.

My emotions are shot. It's so late and yet early and rational and irrational seem to have become one and the same, the grey area between the two.

Terror grips at me again, and the animalistic instinct within me curls me into a ball, grasping my head in clawed hands, fighting off another round of phantoms.

I mutter out the princess' name between clenched teeth, and I can feel her move to get close enough to hear. The silence is so loud and my terror spikes.

"Zelda?" I ask again.

"What? I'm right here." she's starting to sound shaken, I guess she's never seen me act like this before. Heck, _I've_ never seen this side of myself before.

What was I even asking for? I know what it is but it's just so awkward and horrible. It's an utter testament to my weakness and fear for Din's sake.

"Can you stay?"

I'm so out of it all pretenses are nothing. I'd never in my right mind have asked Zelda to stay here with me. In a bed. Geez... holy freakin' _Hylia_. What is my deal?

The most surprising part is that she stays, trailing her fingers up and down my back as I try to get my tremors under control, hands still glued to my head.

Eventually, I can feel my heartbeat return to a healthy rate, and she helps me release the iron grip on my head, my hands stiff and cramping.

Nothing else is said, and she lets my head lean on her shoulder again, damp from my crying episode earlier.

I want to apologize again, but she didn't accept it the first time.

I just want to forget this ever happened. In the light of the day, everything will be back in place. All this will be erased.

Zelda might not let it become forgotten though. She's unpredictable. I've already been caught off guard by her actions tonight, and there's no telling what'll happen tomorrow.

I know though, that I be stepping foot in the good ole' Milk Bar again. I'd only had a bottle at a time before, but this just shows the dark path that Chateau Romani takes me down. I never want to ingest something that can make figments of my memories appear again before me, even more terrifying than the were. It twisted things way out of proportion.

Sleep comes again, and I'm too defeated to fight it. If I get a nightmare, so be it.

_I'm back in Hyrule, a change in pace from my usual subconscious haunts._

_The castle courtyard comes to light around me, the sweet air and the cool breeze. I'm little again, a practical shrimp, once again scampering back into the castle. To Zelda._

_We'd already met, and I'd warned her of what I'd witnessed. But this time was to say goodbye._

_I didn't remember much of the future, only the immediate events of me pulling out the Master Sword, but I knew that she was gone as far as I knew. I knew I had missed her._

_"So you're really going huh?"_

_She turned away from the window, she was always such a nosy girl, and turned to look at me._

_Those big, beautiful blue eyes seemed to pierce my soul, two little wisps of golden hair peeking out by her ears._

_"I'm going to look for her."_

_Zelda nodded, knowing who I meant without me having to tell her. Navi._

_She'd been with me my whole journey, of which I could sense, even with the smallest ounce of knowledge, was a long one._

_"Goodbye," I don't know why a sad smile appeared on my face. I was so curious about what had transpired in the future between us, if at once we had really been friends. I liked to think so, I remember, before I'd known._

_"Wait!" I had already turned away, ready to start my search for my long lost companion. I'd start in the Lost Woods first, where I'd met the fairy for the first time on that fateful day._

_I glance over my shoulder, as Zelda comes over to me, down the stone steps._

_She takes a second to compose herself, "Even though it's only been a short time, I feel like I've known you forever, Link. I know we'll meet again one day, but until then I want you to have this," she hands me the ocarina, which until now I hadn't noticed was grasped in her hands. She must've known I was leaving Hyrule. "I'm praying that your journey will be a safe one... but remember this song in case,"_

_Zelda starts to play the Song is Time, the song that was hidden by the Royal Family, another well kept secret. It resonates in my soul, and in this fictitious version of events, I can feel myself transcending through time, catapulted into Termina, my journey speeds around me, becoming a blur._

_If only my journey had been a safe one. If only Zelda had never sent me back._


	25. Coming clean

A headache pulls me out of sleep, and my eyes are pierced by the morning light, further agitating my hungover body.

As the room fills in around me, my gaze lands on the princess, who's right next to me, her head on my shoulder. Fast asleep. My eyes practically bug out of my head, so confused in my tiredness.

The events from last night come to me slowly, rolling down my insides like syrup. Sweet, merciful Din... I was a complete and utter _wreck_ last night.

And the princess and I... why did I tell her to stay? What is wrong with me? Not only is that just such a weak thing to say, but I have a girlfriend! Have I forgotten that?! Even though I've only had one girlfriend, I at least know some common sense tips for a dating. This crosses so many lines.

Hopefully I can promise the princess to keep this between us and never speak of what transpired last night ever again. But knowing her, I have a good feeling she'll keep it to blackmail me. Looking forward to that.

I can feel her start to move, shaking off the layers of sleep. Her head moves up from my shoulder, her blue eyes bleary. Our faces are close. Too close. Our noses are practically touching.

The close proximity between us hasn't seemed to register in her head yet, staring up at me with an almost comatose face, oblivious to the implications of this. If Malon found out, I'd be dead. She'd beat me to a pulp.

The princess' eyes seem to clear, and then they widen as she realizes where she is. She pushes herself away from me, a bright blush inflaming her face.

I can feel my own face get warm too, and I avert my eyes from her.

"Fairy boy," that snap of snark comes out of nowhere, and I see a serious look on her still flushed face, "take me around this town today."

A smirk comes onto my face, almost pleased that she's seemed to have decided to ignore the events of last night as well.

"Sure, as you wish princess... or should I say your Majesty? M'lady. Her Grace. Your Highnes-"

"That's enough _farm boy_." she intercepts.

Geez... she's still calling me that? I was sleeping in that barn for a week max! Fairy boy's actually preferable to farm boy.

I know the silence is killing both of us, awkward and empty. My mind reels back to my erratic behavior yesterday, which makes me feel more crummy, if that's even possible.

If we are to go out, we'll need to check our injuries again. I didn't feel anything get injured again last night, but to be fair, the Chateau Romani seemed to have wiped away most sensations, all into one buzzing numbness. Except of course, there seemed to have been a trade off. Escape and reprieve from the pains of the physical to be haunted by your mind. And there's even exceptions to this, that killer headache begun around the second or third bottle and hasn't stopped since.

I sneak a glance at Zelda, her bandages on her arms seem to still be fairly clean, but we should just play it safe. Even though we're in another dimension, there's still war back home, and we have to be ready for anything. Those Gerudo could find us at any time.

"Here, I'll do yours first."

The pounding in my head gets worse as I stand myself up, a Megaton Hammer against my temples.

She looks at me confused for a second, before glancing at one of the wraps on her arms, the realization in her eyes. Both of us are still half-asleep.

"Okay."

———

My first observation is that the sun's too bright. Second one, it's too loud. There's already a late morning shopping crowd on the scene, filling up the streets with bodies _and_ noise.

The princess is ahead of me, trying to navigate through the town, me trailing behind her.

My eyes are squinted and I really just want to go lie down in a dark room or something. But some part of me knows I need to stay with her. That knight entrusted her safety and protection to me, it was an order, now my duty. And I don't want her to run into those Gerudos again without me.

She's really annoying me though, there's a nice idea in my head of just disappearing into the crowd, she wouldn't notice I was gone until I was back in the room. Zelda's so enthralled with Clock Town, according to her, it's unlike anything she's seen before, which I guess I can agree with. NL is a whole other can of worms from Hyrule. She hasn't even seen all there is to see in her land of origin, this must be overwhelming for her.

If this day goes her way, I'll have to follow her all around town. Zelda wants to see everything.

She seems different here than in Hyrule too. Less formal, here she isn't a queen, heck, she isn't even a princess. Zelda is a nobody here, and back home she never is a no one. There's no Dohean to prove herself to, either, which is a plus I can get behind as well. Of course, he expects nothing of me and I actually agree with him, but still... being gone from him is one of the better parts of us being stuck down this hole.

———

As the day goes on, we seem to loop around town, ending back near east Clock Town sometime in the early afternoon.

The south sector is a busy spot, not only are there plenty of locals going about their day, but closer to the Clock Tower I can even see a Deku Scrub behind one of the stands, selling goods. And now, instead of just one lil' bugger of a dog, there's a trio now.

The paranoia of the Gerudo women making a reappearance has returned as I was dragged across town, and my eyes flick over the crowd in search of their bright red hair and bronze skin.

I don't have my sword with me, which means if they find us now we'd be defenseless.

It almost seems like a cruel joke the goddesses are throwing on us when I see the unmistakable flash of a red ponytail. There's only one answer to who it is. Who it has to be. Those Gerudo.

They're behind us and deeper in the crowd, near the Deku Scrub's stall, but still, that's too close for comfort. From what I can tell, the group's a bit smaller than the one that chased us on the way here. They're still dangerous though. I don't even know how they would've gotten over the chasm.

I reach my hand out to grab Zelda's and she almost jumps at the touch, looking over her shoulder at me.

"We've got to get out of here now." I say through gritted teeth. They might've already seen us for crying out loud... I can already feel the adrenaline begin.

Zelda's mouth opens in a reply, but doesn't say anything as she examines my serious expression. There's no kidding around. Something's wrong.

She gives a terse nod and our speed doubles as we near east Clock Town.

The crowd's still somewhat thick here too, but we weave our way through the people and to the inn, on the verge of running. Stockpot is our best bet right now as a safe haven. We can talk out our next course of action there and hide out. But one thing's certain, we have to leave Clock Town today.

Both of us slow our pace when we get into the reception room, trying to look casual and calm. Zelda's good at it, she looks like the personification of calm, cool, and collected. Me on the other hand, looks more akin to panic-but-trying-to-act-fine. It doesn't really cut it, but Anju's preoccupied with a Goron coming to book a room so we aren't acknowledged.

The moment both of us make it into the room, I shut the door behind us, letting out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.

Zelda's sat herself in one of the chairs, an expectant look on her face.

"It was them. Those Gerudo." I manage.

The princess nods, already lost in her thoughts.

"We're leaving tonight then."

I nod, and then silence pervades the room. All we can do now is hide out here till nightfall and make sure everything is packed up too. We'll need to pay Anju for today too. Then we can leave.

The only question is where. It might be too risky to try and get back to Hyrule, especially since I spotted them near the Clock Tower. The only option right now seems to be out into the field and beyond the town.

I already know the only choice for us but I don't want to return there. Even though every place here held an air of death, it was most prevalent there. In Ikana.

———

The sun's taking its sweet time dying, and the eastern sky has yet to turn the darkest hues of blue and then an empty black. A few stars have flickered into existence in the sky, pricks of light against the darkness.

After packing everything and paying Anju, we set up camp out on the roof, waiting for darkness to come.

It's already quiet out in the street below and the princess and I are both lost in our own thoughts.

My hands are back on the rail, and she's seated on the wooden floor by the door.

There's a movement from her direction and I can see her come up next to me out of my periphery.

"Can you tell me? I know you don't want to talk about it... but you really scared me last night." Her voice is so soft I can barely hear it.

But I should've known she'd bring it up eventually. The princess let me have my fun with our casual and typical banter, but now to my chagrin she's already unearthed the remains of last night.

I sigh. She's too perceptive to ignore it. I mean, I can't blame her, I was crying all over her after all. Her tone is serious. She genuinely wants to know, the reason which is beyond me.

"I ended up here on my journey to find her. Back when I came there was a moon, one with a face. A mask was stolen from a salesman by a Skull Kid and he was using its power to send the moon down on everyone. It was over the Clock Tower.

"There were only three days to stop it, but I guess your song came in handy. I repeated those days over and over again.

"I knew everyone's story and their schedules but every time I reset the clock they'd all forgotten and everything I'd done had been erased.

"Death was always hanging over my head and the people always slowly fell into terror as they accepted their fate."

I try to keep it brief, I'll spare her to details. It sounds so pathetic out loud. This place had caused me trauma and paranoia and grief. Nightmares during the day. Flashes of memory that catch me off guard.

I've never told someone else before. Now that I have, I'm ashamed. The terror is still there and I hate it. There's a fluttery feeling in my chest, which deepens into an ache. Guilt.

"Sorry." I mutter quickly, "I know it sounds stupid, I'm trying to get over it. The memories won't leave though."

I risk a glance in her direction. She's facing the direction of the rail, eyes on the sky. I can't even begin to guess what she's thinking right now. Is it annoyance? I just wasted her time with my confession, which was revealed as stupid and pointless when it finally came out of my mouth.

I can see her eyes become glassy and watery and to my complete and utter surprise, a tear slips down her cheek.

A strangled, painful sound comes out of her mouth as she starts to quietly sob, her hands dig into the wood.

"Hey, cut it out. Don't cry for me. I'm fine." I retort, my voice shaking. I don't know what to do. I've never seen Zelda cry before.

I turn towards her, shudders rack her body. Pure distraught is on her face. Why? I don't understand.

"Stop it." I say, almost desperate now.

Before I can think my actions through, I get a hold on her shoulders and get her to face me.

Her cheeks are wet, tears still drip down as she sniffles, head leaned up at me.

"Is that why you never wanted to come back?"

I nod, "It's fine."

"You're never fine," she snarks, her voice thick with sobs.

Now it's her turn to cry over me, and I let her. My shirt'll help to muffle her at least.

The guilt is still there, my pathetic sob story got this out of the queen of calm. Her face is pressed against my tunic, arms useless at her sides.

"It'll be all right Zelda... calm down, we've got to go anyway."

I'm really bad at soothing people, it turns out, and we can't afford to waste any time. Night has descended over the land and now under the cover of darkness we have to go.

Both of us have on cloaks we'd bought a few days before, and it must've been good foresight, because the hoods can help to conceal our identities.

The paranoia rises again, and I have to gently pull her body away from mine, reaching behind her shoulder to get the hood on over her face.

"C'mon, we've got to get out here," my voice is soft, and looking down at her sad eyes makes me feel horrible. For Din's sake... even all the times I've been rude to the princess have never elicited this response.

I don't want to have to trek back down to the front door and out into the street, so instead I head out towards the thatched roof part, which is connected to the balcony. I get close to the edge and then lower myself to the surface of the roof before I let go of the side and fall to the ground.

Zelda does it in a more agile way. She steps off the roof and manages to land on her feet, low to the ground.

Then we're off, heading up to where the mayor's office is, along with the entrance to the field.

There's a guard at the door but unlike my last visit here, he lets us pass through without any problems. That's one good thing that comes with being an adult.

The field is dark and stretches around the confines of Clock Town.

The entrance to Ikana looms ahead, with pillars of stone jutting out of the terrain, carved with faces, similarly to the design of the Stone Tower.

The grass starts to end as it gets closer to the entrance to that haunted wasteland, becoming dusty, rocky earth instead. The Astral Observatory sits beside the opening in the cliff walls, a blue dome surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence, the last stray bit of Clock Town in the field.

Stray bombchus are running around, their spherical tails flashing, bombs ready to ignite, their large, almost insane grins on their faces.

One sees us, and I struggle to pull my shield out from behind my cloak to block its explosive blast. I manage in time, the force of the explosion knocks me back a few inches, but other than that, I'm unscathed.

The land of the death beckons us forward, back into the place so many of my nightmares have taken place.


	26. A haunted wasteland

I don't know what I expected would change about this place. It's a desolate and devoid of life as I remember. Of course, there's the gang of bombchus that run free on the path up to the canyon.

The fences are also still there, but both of us manage to get over them. It was impossible when I was younger, only doable with Epona, but that's not the case anymore. Now that I think about it, the fact that Epona made it in and then out of Termina is a feat within itself.

The night's just beginning, and the sky continues to darken as we head up the dusty path through the mountains in the lower part of the canyon. I can already see the bubbles, winged skeletal heads with a blue glow around them, appear along the trail. They're nuisances, plain and simple. Their "curse" just prevents the use of a weapon. It's pathetic.

We're almost to the fork in the road when one of the brainless skulls finally decides to come after us. There's a cackling noise coming from it as it rushes on it's small, keese-like wings at us. I've got enough time to pull my shield out, which the bubble proceeds to crash into, falling to the ground.

While I pull out my sword to finish it, it hops around helplessly on the ground, completely and utterly vulnerable. It's almost sad how a bunch of pushovers these guys are. Even more so than stalfos.

It gets over to the wall, and I use the opportunity to corner it against the sheer rock walls, slashing straight down on top of its head before it can regain its wings and power. The sword gets through the ancient bone, and the bubble stops moving. The rest of the bone just lies there, already somewhat deteriorated.

I get my weapons back on my back and nod over to the princess as we continue on.

There's one more hurdle that we get up over and then we're in a wider space than the rest of the narrow road to Ikana. The opening on the left will lead to the graveyard, which I have no doubt is infested with stalchildren at this hour. Even though they are long dead, they still think they're soldiers, guarding the graves, unable to move on to death. In a way, it's almost a morbid and pathetic analogy to me. I've already gone to this land, Termina, and yet I'm unable to move on from those ghosts of the past. I am just as disillusioned and lost as the roaming spirits of Ikana Canyon.

We're going forward though, deeper into the land of the dead. I just hope the Gerudo weren't following us.

The ledge to continue onward looms high above my head, and I can see the Poe Collector once again sitting on the edge, waving his staff (stick?) around beside him.

His glowing red dot of an eye pierced through the darkness under his purple hood and he's still in his tattered white robe. Pale and almost skeletal legs dangle off the edge.

"What are you doing here? Ones of such life have no place in the land of the dead. Ikana hill is place where lost spirits wander and regrets linger, they look for one who could save their sou-"

"- Yeah, yeah, cut the spiel buddy. I've heard your story before, can you let us up?"

It's red eye glowers down at me, angry that I cut off his little speech.

"Only one with the mask containing wandering spirits can enter Ikana." Geez... his voice is all snarky now.

Of course I know what he's talking about, the Garo's mask. I remember having to trek all the way back to Milk Road and race Ingo's twin, in looks and personality. There's a trio Ingos in Termina, which is three too many in my opinion. The mask has the same two bleak dots for eyes, in a sea of blackness and the brown hood. But I gave all my masks to the lunar children in the moon. There's no way I can pop back in and ask to borrow it for a quick sec.

"I know, I had that mask once... you probably remember me, don't you? No one else in their right mind would be coming here away from the living, would they?"

"Hmm... well there was that blue haired kid, and that thief Sakon."

I'm about to retort something at him but then I realize what an idiot I am. He wouldn't remember me. I never had to worry about coming this way again after I actually made it to Ikana hill. I didn't need his help anymore.

"Never mind." I mumble, glaring up at him.

Now what? If the Gerudos are on our trail like my paranoid mind suspects, then we're trapped down in this valley with pyromaniac bombchus and that gloating Poe Collector. I bet he'll be happy to see us die. Well... at least me. I'm too "snarky" for him it would seem.

The graveyard isn't great spot to be either, without the Captain's Hat, the stalchildren will attack on sight. And I doubt Dampé is still alive.

But wait. Didn't I have a way to get back up there without needing the Poe Collector to make that tree appear? I did.

"Hey princess, hold onto me."

I can hear Zelda begin to protest behind me, but she quiets when she realizes my reasoning. Even though time has reset many times and my masks are gone, the owl statues have still remained active. That's how we got to Clock Town, after all.

I fish the ocarina out of my pouch and start playing, my notes are less shaky and clearer now than days before when I played the Song of Soaring last.

I can see everything fade out again to that crimson color, and I quickly focus my mind on the Ikana hill owl statue, high above the ledge and past the river with the two octorocks.

I can feel the feathery wings wrap around us both again, and there's that spinning sensation. Then we're gone.

———

We slam to a halt and it takes a half second to adjust to the sudden change in location.

We're well beyond that Poe Collector now, on the higher part of Ikana Canyon. The owl statue's the same as the one in Clock Town, except stranded up on top of this cliff side with nothing but one patch of grass to keep company. The patch isn't even that close anyway. Whatever.

The Ancient Castle of Ikana looms to my right, still as foreboding and yet decrepit at the same time as it ever was. There's still the colorful designs, but they've faded more in the decade or so I've been gone, the door's still shut as well.

I remember the princess is here too and turn to look at her. Zelda's eyes are almost as big as saucers, taking in this strange new land.

"Welcome to the land of the dead."

I can't help but say that in a snarky voice, using some unknown grandiose to gesture to the rest of the canyon.

I see the few small huts over up a ledge and the only house up here, the music box house. Even at night, I can see Stone Tower, reaching up into the sky with its trio of towers.

It feels weird to be back here, in a land that I've been gone from for so long. During that time, my brain hasn't let me forget this place, but this Ikana isn't as nightmarish as I remember. In hindsight, Ikana's fate is more depressing than anything. All the wandering souls here are unable to move on, unable to let their past regrets go.

Bubbles dot the terrain, bright blue in the dark, and there's the sound of Guays even though I can't see any in the sky.

This timeline, the one I left Termina on, didn't include breaking Ikana's curse, but the river is running and the music box house is keeping the Gibdos away, the song blasting across the space which is otherwise as silent as a grave. Heh.

"Are you sure it's safe here? Didn't you hear what that guy was saying? Well... before you interrupted him."

I snap my eyes away from my surroundings and back to Zelda. I can see she's glaring at me again.

"We're fine. Besides, I've fought all those spirits before." I begin, "And, for your information, princess, he has the same spiel as he did years ago... it's practically engraved in my head."

"Well whatever." She crosses her arms, giving me an unamused face. I get it, it's late at night, she's never been to this place of death before, we're on the run, yada yada.

"Look, I know some people," she quirks a suspicious eyebrow at me and I narrow my eyes in response, "-they're actual people, okay? You happy? I could take us to the spirit house if you want to see some ghosts."

"I'm good." She retorts back.

I nod my head and start off up the slight incline to the house, hearing Zelda keep up behind me. She's doesn't want to get left out here, except with the curse lifted, this place is harmless.

I'm up on the front porch, about to knock when I have a realization. It's not that I doubt that little girl- well she'd be a teenager now- will let me in, it's the question as to if they'll even be awake at this hour.

Guess I'll have to knock and see. I rap my fingers on the door and wait for a reply.

There's the sounds of hushed conversation, probably wondering what someone could be doing knocking at this hour. Heck, the fact that there's someone else- who's _living_ \- in Ikana is reason enough to be curious- or concerned. They better not think it's the Gibdos again. "Farewell to Gibdos" is playing for Nayru's sake.

I hear a lock click and the door opens.

It's the girl... Pamela, I think, is her name.

"Hello?" Her voice is groggy and confused but also has this annoyed edge in it, which is completely warranted. I bet I'd be more snarky if there were unwanted visitors, especially if I lived in the deadest wasteland ever. The Gerudo's "haunted wasteland" doesn't hold a candle to this place. No questions about it. There's a grand total of _one_ ghost in that plethora of sand, and it's a measly poe at that.

If she remembered me maybe it wouldn't be as strange and intrusive as this feels.

I don't know what to say to her. I can't just be like 'hey, we're sorta being hunted and need to hide out at your place for a bit'.

"Um... I know this sounds really weird, but we need somewhere to hide." There wasn't anything else to say, might as well get all my cards out on the table from the get-go.

Outlined by the light inside the house, I see her eyes widen with both suspicion and intrigue. Pamela probably now sees us as thieves akin to Sakon, who makes his home in a weird cave in the valley below.

"I can't help thieves. Leave or we can fight."

I laugh nervously, "I'm not a thief-"

"He can't fight either."

I'm about to glare at Zelda and retort or something but I restrain myself. The anger flares up inside of me but I just let it sit. I'm trying to convince Pamela that I'm not a threat, blowing up at Zelda would only make me look more like a thief. Although what the princess said makes me seem more pathetic than anything. A wannabe.

Pamela seems to consider it, looking over the two of us with a steely gaze, a frown on her face.

"I believe you," she sighs as she says that,"here, come in."

The door is opened more and light spills out onto the porch, I step inside.

"Thank you, we don't mean to be a bother," I hear Zelda say as the door is closed behind us. She can be snarky one second and then diplomatic and cordial the next. Well... she's mainly only snarky to me.

"Why are you hiding? At least you picked one heck of a spot, no one I know from town would waste it on coming all the way out here."

Pamela slouches into one of the chairs around a table in the center of the room, the one closest to the fireplace. Even though she's let us come in, the interrogation will continue.

I take a seat opposite her, still taking in the surroundings of the house. The walls still have those colorful patterns that seem all the rage in Termina, and most of the same furniture is still intact and present. The basement is probably the same too.

Before I start talking, I spare a glance in the princess' direction, hovering back towards the door, unsure what to do. How much should I tell? Might as well begin, Zelda can catch me if I start to notch anything up.

"They aren't from Clock Town," I begin carefully, the princess nods for me to continue, "we don't know what they want to do to us, kill us or capture us is my guess."

"Where are they from then?"

"Uh..."

No one in this land know about Hyrule except Skull Kid and the mask salesman. Same thing with Termina in Hyrule. She might think we're crazy or had to much magic milk if we start talking about Gerudos and our land of origin.

"... they're from the Pirate Fortress."

The pirates are counterparts of the Gerudo, while their locales are opposites, they have the same appearance and reputation in their respective land. Perfect.

"Really?"

Pamela's eyes widen. The Gerudos here- or should I say pirates- from what I know, stay in Great Bay. I wonder what she thinks we've done to get hightailed by the pirates.

There's a sound from the basement and then I see her father come up from the stairs, looking about as groggy as his daughter.

He seems to be taken aback to see more than one person in his home.

"What's all this Mela?" I can see his eyes flicker over to us, the two strangers in the room in curiosity, "We never have visitors, especially not at this hour... what are you doing here?"

This man is definitely more perceptive than his daughter. He studies the phenomenons taking place here, so he'll probably know that something about our story to Pamela is just that, a story.

"They claim they're being chased by those pirates from the bay, can you believe that?"

I can tell he's already deep in thought over the authenticity of our story. Yeah, I know... it's a really cheap story. But I'm beyond tired and still worked up from seeing our favorite redheads, not to mention I had a second to make this in the first place.

Now both of them are looking at us, and I can feel a nervous laughter fighting to escape my throat.

"Where did they say they were from again?"

"Never said."

They're looking at me for an answer, which only makes my nerves worse. Geez... if looks could kill.

The laugh escapes, choked and awkward in the silence.

"Well... you see, we're not from here. From Termina, that is... neither are our pursuers."

"Wait. Do you mean...? Another plane of existence?"

Huh. I've never seen it that way. Of course I knew about the portal between worlds, but I never thought much about it.

"Sorry about my dad... he forgets that most people don't understand his 'science talk'" She uses air quotes and everything. I'm impressed.

Her father seems to ignore her, studying the two of us.

"You two certainly don't look like you're from here, although very similar..." he meets my eyes and I start to feel scared, and I don't even know why yet.


	27. Up against a wall

The world is heavy and lethargic as I pull myself from my sleep, blinking in the dim room. A headache flares up under my eyes, slow and dull like an unsharpened knife.

After the sunlit room yesterday at Stockpot, the dark is almost a surprise. But what did I really expect? I'm in a _basement_ for Farore's sake. Yesterday is still filtering in as my tired brain begins to comprehend what led to being basement bunk mates with Zelda, since that's the only person I'd guess would be the one I can hear quietly snoring next to me.

Oh yeah.

After the wary introductions with Pamela and her father, there were the equally wary explanations of the circumstances that led us to Termina, and then to Ikana. It got even deeper into the unholy hours of the night, and I barely remember when they found us a spot to sleep down in the basement. I had been beyond groggy at that point.

One good thing about my exhaustion was that there was no trouble falling or staying asleep. No nightmares either. It was a dreamless sleep. Something I haven't had much of in my life. You'd think my nightmares would return in full here, this is the birthplace of most of mine, where the dead has come to life.

I start to sit myself up gingerly, minding the stiffness of the bandages and the dried blood, shedding off the layers of blankets that are strewn over me. It'd only be fitting for me to be haunted by my past regrets in this place, like all the other wandering spirits. Although I was too tired last night to even think to brace against the nightmares I thought for sure would come, the very real possibility still was in my mind. But the world loves to prove me wrong I guess. Goody.

The room's about the same as it was last time, although there seems to be even more research thrown all about the room, on walls, on tables, even inside that old cabinet. The only source of light is from the room above, which spills down the stairwell.

As for what to do, it's undecided.

I want to go back to Hyrule as soon as possible, the war could already be over and done at this rate, but what I'm expecting is for the Hylians to be in dire straits at least.

The Gerudo might have seen us leave town though, and I don't want to leave too soon so they expect us and we walk right into their trap.

So the best thing to do is play sitting tektites for at least another day, as much as I'd rather get back to Hyrule today, we need a day. A day to rest and come up with a course of action.

I push my back up against the wall and glance down at the princess. She's still out like a light, bundled up in her own set of blankets. I can't even see her face, she has a mask of blonde hair on over her whole head, picking up glints of gold from the light above.

I wonder what she'd do to me if I woke her up. Might as well risk finding out. If anything, it'll be as worse as when Malon landed that blow on my nose. But... who knows? There's one thing I know for certain about Zelda, she's unpredictable.

I inch away from my spot by the wall, getting as close to her sleeping form as I dare. I'm taking _serious_ chances here.

I lean a bit closer, getting both hands out to shake her by the shoulders. It's awkward from behind, but this is impulsive and quick enough.

She jolts awake. I can feel her shoulder muscles tense beneath my fingers, and she begins to thrash in my grip. She's fighting hard, just woken up and her breath is already coming in sharp gasps under a curtain of hair.

"Let-" She strains further," me- go!"

I don't even bother to hold back my laughter as I struggle against her panicked and desperate movements.

"Shut up."

My laughter only grows, but I let her win, loosening my grip on her shoulders. Zelda takes it as an opportunity to land a hit just below my shoulder, still blinded by her hair and tiredness.

"Okay, okay, here,"

I get around on the other side of the princess and help her sit up. Zelda has long hair, and in sleep it managed to snake its way around her head and neck. Before I can stop it, I start to brush some of it away with my fingers, uncovering her face.

There's anger in her eyes from the rude awakening, but that's fading away into something else as the blue in her eyes seems to lighten.

She doesn't say anything, just stares at me in surprise.

After my confession yesterday to her about my time in Termina, I want to convince her I am fine. It was the magic milk's fault for Farore's sake.

I am fine, right? There's a slight falter in my supposed confidence,

"Hey princess, why don't I show you around up here? After we get our bandages changed..." I start in the uneasy silence,the two of us still on the pile of blankets.

Her eyes widen at the request, surprised. After yesterday, she must think I'm even more pathetic than ever, and for whatever reason, I'm already so determined to prove her wrong.

———

In all honesty, I never expected to be back in front of its formidable wall again. But here we are. Today is just so full of surprises.

The ancient castle of Ikana stands guard against the rest of the world, the front gate still as unmoving as it ever was, a monolith of the past that refuses to move on. I can tell it's more decrepit than my last visit inside its walls. Its had several more years more to rot and decay some more. Even with the bad memories I have associated with this place, it's still an impressive sight. It's stood the test of time all these years, although it's nothing but a ghost of its former self.

The sky is a light and dusty reddish-pink color, and even though this place is arid and as dry as a bone, it's chilly today. The sun's hidden beneath a soupy layer of clouds.

I don't know what I was trying to accomplish by taking Zelda over here. My thoughts of grandeur have faded and my blood is pounding in my head with my headache. Trying to prove to the princess that I'm less of a wimp than she already thinks just seems like a waste of time. The only reason we've spent so much time together is because we're stuck in this situation together. And, I still technically am her guard. But I never wanted to cater to her, why should I care what she thinks?

Why do our paths still cross? Even though we'd been apart for around a decade, there's still ties. Our destinies much be entwined, written in the stars by those lovely golden goddesses... who hate me. But I won't let myself become like him, the old me. I know I'm just a pawn to her, which she can order around to play soldier or spar with her as she wishes. Our relationship can have the semblance of friendship, although to me, it's anything but. I won't be tricked into loving the princess again.

"What happened to this place?"

This is her first comment since we got in front of the looming monument. Her gaze has been on it, eyes wide in curiosity. The only castle she's ever seen has been her own.

I don't know much about the history, I didn't want to bother getting attached to this accursed place. I was more concerned on freeing the final giant and escaping my purgatory.

"They just died out, I guess."

"Oh."

The quiet becomes awkward, and I don't know what else to say. There isn't anything. Silence is okay.

We've been amiable these last few days, but it doesn't bring me relief, I feel more conflicted. What is our relationship anymore? Even if I have to keep playing soldier until the war's over back in Hyrule, then this friendly act can drop.

I don't know. We need to cut the strings.

My gaze slips from the castle in the distance over to the princess, who's only a few steps away from me, but I dart them back when I see her eyes on me. My face flushes.

"... can I ask you something?"

Even though she didn't say it loud, it's almost deafening in the deathly silence. It comes right out of nowhere, like Sheik, landing a pang inside of me.

"Uh... sure."

Out of my periphery, I can see her turn to face me, and I feel obligated to do the same.

Her eyes look murky, preoccupied with her thoughts. There's the semblance of a frown on her face, and she seems concerned.

_Great. Is she going to ask me more about my "condition"?_

She's biting her lip, and I start to become more nervous. What does she want to know?

"Do you hate me? "

Oh.

My words come quicker than I thought they would, "I don't know. I'm still mad, you had no right to do what you did..." I shake my head as my eyes narrow, trying to sum up the slew of emotions that come crashing into me "I'm angry at you for meddling with my life, sending me back to nothing Zelda. _Nothing_. You had no right. You're the one who made me your pawn to do your bidding. I did it, I saved Hyrule... I had finally amounted to something in my pathetic life, and you striped all my efforts away."

My feelings are tumultuous. I know part of it is anger, but there's something else too. Longing? Can't be.

Her eyes widen, already glassy with tears as she shirks under my gaze. Her whole body seems to turn in on itself, wracked with oncoming sobs.

My anger falters when I see how upset she is. I practically _spat_ those words at her, it certainly felt that aggressive.

Without half a second to think, I bridge the gap between us and pull her towards me. Her look is incredulous with fat, sloppy tears rolling down her cheeks.

Her mouth opens slightly, about to say something, but I don't want to hear it. I dip my head down towards hers and whatever word she'd been about to say fades into nothing. My hands settle on her waist.

I'm more of an idiot that I thought. What in Farore's name am I doing? I just threw angry words at her face and now I've locked lips with her?!

If she knows what's good for the both of us, I'd already be shoved away and probably be held at knifepoint. But nothing's happened.

I involuntarily shut my eyes, I don't want to see her eyes look back at mine with surprise and... I'm guessing anger.

I can feel her tense against me, still trembling.

At that moment, my mind has turned to mush. This was the one thing _not_ to do, I didn't even consider it. And yet... I'm still doing it. I have a girlfriend.

Malon. Great... I make the realization I haven't thought about Malon all that much while in Termina. If she hears about me kissing the princess, I'll be done for. She wouldn't even hesitate.

My mind flits back to the here and now when I feel the princess' arms hesitantly snake up my chest and shoulders until her hands are clasped behind my neck. I can feel her pose soften, warm up to whatever this is.

I've got to end this. Now.

I start to pull away, apologies already spilling out of me, my cheeks on fire.

Her eyes are still somewhat wide, still in shock. The princess' cheeks are red, about the same color as Malon's hair (Geez... good one Link).

"Shut up." Those two words she always uses for me come out through pursed lips, and before I know it I'm pulled back down to her level, her hands knotted in my shirt.

I can tell she's crying again, but she's still working hard to make this the single most intense kiss I've ever had in my life.

I guess I'm more like the other Link than I thought. As much as I tried to hate her, this woman who's done nothing but use me, the longing has remained. It comes back like a flood, and the memory of our goodbye burns back into my head, triggered by the passionate bliss.

———

_The battlefield of rubble and the fire around us starts to fade away and I appear in an almost ethereal plane, everything is a bright blue sky._

_My cuts and scrapes still remain, but I can't feel the pain, as if I'm somewhere beyond the world of the living, disconnected from it all._

_Zelda is in front of me, and I can see a sad smile on her face, scraped up and bruised like me._

_But we did it. Ganondorf is gone. My body begins to relax, the heavy burden, Hyrule's future, lifted from my shoulders._

_I ignore Navi as she circles around my head and hurry to close the gap between Zelda and I, a boyish grin makes its way onto my face as I lock eyes with her._

_Her eyes crinkle and I can see a slow tear start down one cheek._

_"Hey... don't cry," I reach out a gauntleted hand and wipe it away, holding her face in my hand._

_Why is she upset? Everything, the struggles and the fighting, have led to his defeat and an end to his horrid reign of terror over the world at large. And I had done it all for her. Even though the whole of Hyrule had rested on my shoulders, I would've done it anyway. I was the only person who could match blows with the King of Thieves, and she had trusted me._

_Her head drops down, so it's level with her shoulders, and she buries her face in my tunic, arms around me._

_"It's finally all over, and yet..."_

_"What?" My grin starts to fade away._

_"All this tragedy was my doing, had I'd known the consequences of trying to control the Sacred Realm... and I pulled you into my mess too Link,"_

_I can hear her sniffle and then her head tilts back up towards me, eyes swimming with tears._

_"Everyone makes mistakes Zelda, and I wanted to fight for you. I did this for you. What matters is that it's over now," my grin returns, cradling her face in my hands._

_She still looks so sad though, unswayed by my declaration. Her face seems to set itself in some newfound determination, her eyes still watery and puffy._

_"I've decided, I want to right my mistakes, you need to return the Master Sword to it's pedestal, then everything will be fine." A sad smile returns to her face, although her eyes don't seem to be in it. To me, it seems forceful and almost delusional._

_"What do you mean?"_

_Zelda sighs and steps away so she can look at me easier, she seems to harden, and I can feel the mood shift back to formality._

_"As a Sage, I can return you back to your original time, you can have your childhood back that I've stolen from you." I'm about to respond but she beats me to it, "Peace has returned and your duty has been fulfilled, we have to part ways now."_

_She starts to cry again, softer this time, more refined and held back._

_I blanch at her, "Do you mean?" My eyes widen and I can feel my mouth start to gape open. Is this really what her psychotic mind has come up with?_

_She nods quickly, still choking on her tears._

_"I'm not leaving, I fought and risked my life for you and for peace, is that all nothing to you?" I can feel my voice start to crack, which betrays how upset I am._

_Her words mix with the sobs in her throat, "Stop it Link... don't make me feel worse about this than I already do..."_

_I hear her sniffle more, hastily wiping her eyes before holding out a hand to me, "Now for Nayru's sake," anger replaces the sadness in her voice, an easier emotion to deal with for her, "give me that darned ocarina so I can give you back what you lost, so you can be where you're supposed to be."_

_I don't budge, still dumbfounded by her words._

_"Why are you doing this?" My voice drops into a growl._

_"Link, please..." her voice is sharp with anger but Zelda's face is about as desperate as they come._

_I swallow the lump that was forming in my throat and pull out the stupid ocarina, glowing blue under the bright, perfect sky._

_I let it settle into her hand for a slight second before taking hold of her._

_"Zelda... why?"_

_The victory doesn't matter to me anymore, forgotten. She's trying to tug away but I hold fast onto her hand._

_I can tell she's avoiding my gaze, eyes stuck on the blue peeking out from between our entwined fingers._

_"Please... just let me do this..."_

_The choked sound returns and her body shakes again as she manages to pull the ocarina away, cradling it against her chest._

_I let her win, my fight sapped. I stand and watch pathetically as she fits the ocarina to her lips and starts to play, so many emotions run through my body. I'm angry at her, she didn't even give me a choice to stay here. I don't want to return to my childhood of nothing. I was an outcast, but I found a place for myself in this world._

_The greatest emotion might be longing though. I don't want to leave, I had just gotten a chance to see her again after all this time. Even though I don't even know her, I know I must love her. I did all this for her._

_I guess I know how she truly feels about me though, I was just someone for her to use, control, command. My feelings for her must only go one way._

_"Goodbye," her sad voice is the last thing I hear as I'm encased in a blue crystal, before my vision is overtaken with darkness._

_I didn't even get to say goodbye back, I don't get time to do anything at all._


	28. Vengeful idiocy

I can feel my senses return back to the dusty cliff side, the air is heavy and thick, but cool. It bites at my cheeks.

The princess and I are still practically glued together, and her trembles have only gotten worse, it's starting to make me shake too. She's wracked with sobs, clinging to my shirt, her breath is coming out in short, hurt gasps. She's trying to compose herself again. But it's to no avail.

Out of nowhere, still in a mess of emotions, there's a part of me that needs to help her. I don't know what to do.

I'm starting to feel lightheaded and I know Zelda's got to be having trouble breathing at this point. Everything about this is just ridiculous. Crazy. Almost criminal.

I coax her lips off of mine, leaning my head away from hers so I can look her in the eye.

Calling the princess a wreck would be an understatement. A very gross understatement.

Her cheeks, eyes, and nose are all a bright red, inflamed by my actions. Tears soak over cheeks and big globs of the stuff still run down the sides of her face.

Then there's her eyes. I remember them always being so expressive, the only sign as to what she was truly feeling. They're bloodshot and the blue pops out, jagged and painful like shattered fragments of ice, deep and troubled like an upset sea.

The princess looks absolutely devastated. Crushed. Broken.

I'm torn over how I feel.

Turns out I don't hate her as much as I show. I don't want to see her so upset. I'm back to square one, back to loving her so much I'd save an entire nation for her. That's why it hurt so much when she sent me away, that I couldn't stay.

I guess it was there all along, the love stuff, buried somewhere dark so I wouldn't have to think about it, letting myself scorn and resent her more and more, but I'm still too confused to believe it. I can't really love her? Can I?

Another part of me sees this reaction as warranted. Completely fine. I guess that's my vengefulness. It's righteous anger though, to me. I'm not ready to forgive her yet.

It's so frustrating, I'm still mad about what she did, and yet I still love the psychotic bugger anyway. And I don't even want to start thinking about what to do about Malon. She deserves better than someone like me, someone who is always faithful. It's almost hilarious in a pathetic way now that I think about our small little flick. I was delusional, I was just trying to distract myself. What is she going to do to me? Whatever it is, I deserve what she has coming.

I reach my hands up to her wet cheeks, trying to wipe the tears but it's like trying to dry off Lake Hylia. Her entire face feels soaked.

She starts trying to talk, but it's just a load gibberish. It sounds like an apology, but I don't know. Heck, it could be an accusation for all I know. She is my superior, after all, I didn't even consider that before I yelled at her. No foresight, as usual. Impulsivity is a curse. The princess will probably grill me later for that. Does it count as treason?

My nervous laugh is barely audible over her sobs, "Hey, it's okay, just take deep breaths." I hold my tongue against any snarky comments.

I can see her start to heed my words, making a conscious effort to start slow down her breaths that are just one step away from being hyperventilations.

She reaches around my hands to dry her tear stained face with a sleeve.

"I'm sorry... I just..."

The look on her face sums it all up, still broken but her eyes are already more dry and grounded, but she could just as easily go back to the sobs.

"I know."

"Can you forgive me?" There's a pang and I can see the anticipation on her face as she stares up at me, I let my hands and gaze drop from her face. "I didn't want to cause you misery or take away everything you've done... I just..."

"You weren't thinking."

I watch her hands clasp onto mine, almost as if I'm a lifeline.

"Do you forgive me?"

I sigh, forcing myself to raise my head up.

"No." The princess' face deteriorates, but she tries to keep it together this time. I can hear her swallow hard, probably to fend against the knot in her throat. My face softens, "I'm sorry Zelda... I'm not ready."

I don't know if I can every truly forgive her, as horrible and petty as that sounds.

The tears seem to flood back into the oceans that are her eyes, and I hurry to keep saying something, anything to stop her crying. Geez... she's almost worse than that baby Goron.

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you did what you did, but it's okay, you'll be okay, I'll be okay." I sigh again, realizing how stupid I sound. I'm trying to tell her everything is okay and yet I can't forgive her.

"You're never okay." She laughs but her eyes are still crinkled up with tears, a sad smile on her face. It's more cynical than anything.

"Oh for the love of Nayru... I'm fine. Okay?" She gives my hand a squeeze in response, I can feel my expression grow more serious, "I'm sorry Zelda."

"No, it's alright. I understand, I-i... you were right. I didn't think. I'm sorry. I should have said that sooner, I didn't know why you hated me so much, I didn't know what I'd done..." She swallow hard again, her mouth twists itself into a scowl made of stone, trying to hold off tears. Her voice is already thick with them.

"I don't hate you," the words slip out, and even I'm surprised by the delicacy in my voice. And the sincerity. I don't hate the princess.

I had thought I did for years, harboring and breeding my scorn and resentment. I tried to forget my time in Termina every day of my life, and yet my hatred for the princess was something I'd never let myself forget. I needed to remember it, it seemed to be one of the only things driving me in my life. My isolated little life. I almost miss it, even when the loneliness became too much. But I can't go back to that, there's war, whether I want to help against the buggers or not.

She never gives me a choice does she? No. She doesn't.

And still... the biggest conundrum of the day, even though she's so controlling and manipulative and drives me up a wall half the time, it's still there. Why?

I don't know. But holy Hylia... I don't think I'd believe it if I told myself all about this yesterday. I'd probably laughin my face. I deserve it.

———

"D'you think we can even get out that way? The way we came in?"

The sun's long gone, disappeared behind the cliffs and the rest of the canyon, and I can hear the bubbles already appearing outside, making their pathetic little racket.

"Is there any other way? You're the only one who's been here and out fairy boy." Zelda's in the chair across from me, completely deadpanned.

"I mean... it seems like the only way to me. I mean, I wouldn't expect to end up back home by falling off Stone Tower or something like that."

"Let's just go with the portal in the tower."

"Yeah... that'd probably be for the best."

Tomorrow we're going to get back to Hyrule, one way or another. There isn't much time to plan out something elaborate. There isn't time to do anything.

We have no idea what we're getting ourselves into when we leave Termina and return to the war front. It'll be a shock, to say the least. Even back in this hole, the past few days have been a reprieve from the chaos back home, even as stressful and full of inner-turmoil this visit has been, there's no doubt it's more stressful and terrifying back home.

I hope there's still a sliver of a chance left for us, but who knows? Ganondorf's tidal wave of destruction might've already swept any chance of victory completely out of the water. That'll be an absolute picnic to fix. Looking forward to the worst.

"Do you think my knife would work?"

"Huh? For what?"

I'm ripped from my thoughts when I see Zelda pull her knife out of seemingly nowhere, the edges glow an orange gold from the light emitting from the fireplace.

The princess' face is set in some sort of grim determination, the knife still in her hand.

"They came after me. I'm the key to the secrets of the Royal Family, I'm the only last remaining member too, the heir."

"Okay...?" I don't see what this has to do with pulling a knife out of nowhere, for seemingly no reason. Call me slow, but she's making no sense.

"Shouldn't we look more conspicuous? Or... well, at least me."

That was something I'd neglected to even consider. But she's right, those Gerudo hightailed it after us in pursuit for Zelda. Any precaution should be taken on the way out of here. Ganondorf would benefit a lot from Zelda's capture, not only would he have someone he could torture her for all the deep, dark, and well hidden secrets of the Royal Family, but he could use her as ransom against the Hylians too. He'd play dirty.

Ganondorf with the knowledge of the true nature of the Sacred Realm and the Song of Time, among other things, is a scary thought. He'll probably be hunting me out next, since I still constitute as the only one who can open the seal in the Temple of Time.

"Here, cut my hair for me."

Just as tactful as ever, she thrusts her knife at me, blade first. It's a good thing my reflexes are fast enough to lean away, or else there'd be another lovely gash in my chest.

It's an odd request, I know it's because of the circumstances, why would she ask me to cut her hair? Aren't I going to botch it up big time? Oh well, I'll just try my best to keep the ends even. This isn't for show, maybe the grittier will be the better... since it'll make her seem less polished, not a natural leader, nobody of real importance.

I just hope this actually works. There's only so much hair you can cut, you're still the same person, still the same face. But this'll make it less obvious. Slightly. I don't know.

I get up before reaching for her knife, since grabbing it blade first sounds like a stellar way to get a handful of bandages. And a great way to make myself seem like an even bigger idiot than I already am.

The princess is already letting her hair flow down the back of the chair, somehow still shiny and relatively clean. We've been through so much running and fighting and falling and more, and yet it still has a healthy glow. Magic.

Zelda never said how long she wanted it, but I want to try and make her look as drastically different as she'll tolerate.

There's no "right" way to start really, so I just grab a section of hair and settle on a length. Just above the shoulders.

It'll be a big change from how her hair is now, very long, it's all the way down to her waist for Din's sake.

I wasn't expecting her knife to cut through the sheet of golden hair so easily, but it's like a knife through warm bread. The blade is sharpened so minutely that I can hear the smallest sound of the individual strands being chopped off.

Since I'd rather cut myself then be killed by Zelda for accidentally getting a slice in her back, I angle the knife towards me, going in sections and trying to line the ends up. There's a pile of hair already on the ground, I can feel the slight weight pressing down on my boots.

It must be late already, Pamela and her father were out awhile ago but both have turned in. Zelda and I aren't rushing out next morning though, nighttime is the best for stealth purposes. It will be just like when we made it all the way up to the Canyon.

When I finish, the knife goes back on the table near the princess, and Zelda's already feeling the feathery strands of hair, light and airy, about to take flight.

This must be the first time she's had short hair since childhood, even from behind her, I can see the curiosity in how gingerly she starts to comb through her hair, waiting for her waves of hair to return. They're on the floor though, ended.

Is the silence a bad thing? Maybe she hates it. Too darn bad for her, she asked me to do her hair, after all. But she seems too entranced by the sudden change to truly be mad.

"... thank you."

I put a hand on her shoulder in reply, feeling her hair brush over my fingers.

It's already like I'm back in Hyrule, trying to return myself to the harsh reality of war. We need to regroup with the others remaining as fast as we can, although they would have located during our disappearance. The only safe havens of ours, Kakariko and Lon Lon Ranch have been overtaken. But they'd have to find somewhere... right? The people of Hyrule managed to survive during his tyrannical reign last time, although it's certainly a larger campaign now. It was never a true war in that future, everyone just submitted to his rule. But we're fighters this time. Hopefully we can still be survivors too.

I start towards the basement, exhausted by the day.

There's so much in my head, and there isn't time to fully focus on everything and let the realizations really sink in. Heck, I've barely wrapped my head around the actions of the Gorons. And now whatever is transpiring between Zelda and I... and Malon.

Geez... it's hilarious in a totally unfunny way that I actually prefer staying here than returning to the chaos, paired with smaller crises waiting for us back home. Termina's somehow the _preferable_ option this time.


	29. A victim’s innocence

"Mela can help get you down the canyon, she's going hunting anyway."

The last few traces of the sun are starting to fade away into the dark tendrils of the night, splotches of purple and orange and pink disappearing.

I decided it would be best to forgo using the Song of Soaring. While ending up right next to the Clock Tower would be convenient, even I know that using the Ocarina of Time would be a bad move. It'd be practically _flaunting_ the magical instrument required in opening the Sacred Realm right in their faces. That's the last thing either of us want right now. Going back to the portal will already be enough of a suicide mission. We'll just have to get there the old-fashioned way.

There wasn't much for us to pack, but we've got our hoods on over our heads and our weapons. Everything else I stuffed in my pouch. I used to think it was strange I could fit so much in such a small leather bag, but I never found out the logic of it. At least it's convenient.

"Ghost hunting I presume?" I ask, almost surprised Pamela is doing such a thing. When she was younger, I remember she'd wanted to move back to Clock Town and leave Ikana.

"I'm going down to the graveyard."

I remember that place. Ghosts and stalchildren roamed around at night, dead but still stuck in the world of the living. Maybe Dampé is a ghost now too. Then it'd be a truly abandoned place, making the music box house the only habited area in the canyon. Well... inhabited by the living at least. And I guess Sakon counts too. Some people can find life here I guess, as ironic as that seems to me.

Pamela's already started out from the house, heading parallel to the shallow river over to the edge of the canyon cliff.

Not wanting to be left behind, I follow close behind her, turning my head to say thanks and farewell to Pamela's dad. They let us stay at their house that's barely large enough for the two of them. It seems almost too generous. But I'm grateful nonetheless. If they had said no, Zelda and I would've had no choice but to set up camp in the castle, or the well, or heck... Stone Tower.

Pamela is dangerously close to the edge, leaning over slightly into open air, almost as if she's planning to jump. If she thinks we'll follow her if she jumps down at least forty feet into an icy river filled with octorocks, she's sorely mistaken. Well, Zelda might be crazy enough to jump, but not me. I'd rather soar to Clock Town and be ambushed by those Gerudos.

Jumping seems to be the only way for her, I'm the only one I know with a hookshot after all. But that'd be less than stellar. The river doesn't even seem this deep and it's so high up we'd smack the water. It'd be like colliding with a solid brick wall.

Yeah... the Gerudos are looking better by the second, surprisingly enough.

"Please don't tell me you want us to do a dive." I blurt out, an obvious edge of annoyance in my tone. There's got to be better ways down, that's all I'm saying. I'm almost incredulous that she expected us to dive into a brick wall. And a broken neck.

Pamela snorts in response, which only makes me bristle further.

"No of course not, I'm not an idiot. I've been stuck in this canyon for almost my whole life." Her head turns back towards me, "There's another way down, I was just looking around. Runaway souls and whatnot. Dad'll want to research them."

She's outfitted for the job at least, there a short sword- a dagger more like it, and she's got an arrow and a quiver on over her coat, strapped on her back. A small assortment of bottles, to catch the undead buggers I presume, are tied onto her belt, which are knocking into each other with a crystalline ring as she rotates her body away from the ledge.

I keep my mouth shut. I never even called her an idiot anyway, geez.

I guess there had been some new additions to Ikana, rickety wooden bridges connecting the little stone ledges to the bridge below. I had to latch my hookshot onto the small and sickly grey trees that are some of the few plant life found around here.

They look precarious, but Pamela doesn't falter to step onto the first stretch of bridge, a hand on one of the rope handles. I feel Zelda's hand connect with my back, prodding me forward. This is the best way down, but if the wood breaks under me or the ropes snap, I won't be happy.

The bridge gives slightly under my feet, but there's not any other concerns. It holds just fine. It's still precarious though, although those equally rickety bridges in Death Mountain Crater takes the cake for most dangerous.

I try to focus on my footing as I follow Pamela down the sheer cliffside, it's almost too nerve wracking to look down over the edge of the wood, down to the river and the dusty terrain. But we make it down without any incident.

Now all that's left is getting down another sheer drop of a cliff. Great. And even if that ghost man is still there, waving that stick around, I doubt he'd give us a lift down. Although I know he's definitely capable of some magic... I mean, he'd made one of those trees appear once.

But if the way off the upper canyon taught me anything, other than how stupid rickety wooden bridges are, it's that Pamela knows what she's doing. I mean she's practically a native of Ikana for crying out loud.

Maybe the ghost man is nice to her.

The night is silent and still, although as we start to head back to the beginning of the canyon, I hear the unmistakable sound of a gang of octorocks popping out of the water.

I turn around on my heel, pulling my shield out from under my hood. Just in time too, they've already performed their signature and only attack, spitting rocks. They're no better than those skull kids in the woods, although blow guns are a lot more elegant than just chucking rocks at any passerby.

Their rocks bounce off my shield without so much as a slight pressure on the shield, the metal clanks, but then the rocks are sent back towards their senders.

They're too dense to comprehend their end, even as the rocks are careening straight towards their faces. It's almost like these icy blue octorocks have brains made of frozen mush. It'd be appropriate.

They squeal in pain and surprise as the boulders crash into them, caving into their almost slimy snouts. It's horrible to watch the life drain out of them and then get washed away by the river. Their body deflates like some sort of grotesque ballon, and then they're gone too. Even though they're public nuisances, they never put up any real fight. Their end is so pathetic and quick. At least they never see it coming.

I turn back around, fixing my shield onto my back once again. I give a terse nod and we keep going.

I don't want to linger too long here. It's like I'm back on the clock again, trying to get back home before things become too dire. For all I know, it could be well beyond dire by now. Which only makes our need to get the holy Hylia back home even greater.

As per usual, the nighttime menaces, the blue bubbles, dot the trail. They glow their bright blue aura, which flickers like flames. All their skeletal faces are stuck in these maniac smiles, although their jaw bones flap madly when they make their demonic laughs and screams. We're in somewhat close quarters with these guys, so it'll be harder to avoid them and their curse. I've already got my shield pulled out again just in case.

There's broken pillars along the path, some still standing, others lay defeated on the rough ground.

Everything in Ikana seems to be in ruins, although they all feature glimpses into past grandeur. The castle, the temple, the wars and struggles. But it's long gone. One civilization wiped off the map.

I can't let _that_ happen to Hyrule. I know Zelda wouldn't either. She's supposed to be the heir, she's supposed to protect and govern Hyrule after all.

———

I can see him already, his purple hooded robe barely visible in the darkness, sitting on the edge.

Apparently he can see us too, or at least sense us.

"Travelers, hmm?" His voice creeps over up the path to us, even as his head still is facing ahead. "There's not much life in these parts of the world, especially those lying beyond this cliff."

There's some silence, but then his voice croons back to us, "Oh... and Pamela, a little poe collector in her own right."

I can see Pamela inch her way forward, looking notably less concerned than Zelda looks, which is probably how I look too. This... whatever he is, still makes my skin crawl. Maybe he's another one of the plethora of ghosts here. I wouldn't be surprised. He'd always struck me as more than just odd... almost otherworldly and paranormal. He can make things appear out of thing air for one, and that red glowing dot he has for an eye isn't something a living person would possess.

"I'm going hunting now. Can you help us down?"

I can hear him sigh but he waves his stick with more vigor than usual, making a pathway appear along the edge of the canyon walls, a ledge of stone leading down. Then without so much as a sound, he fades out of sight.

We're even closer now. My gaze connects with the princess' and I can see the determination set on her face like mine, and there seems to be a thousand thoughts running through her head, I can see it in her eyes.

The narrow path he made appear doesn't give us much to work with to try and stay on. It's at an angle, sloping down, and while it isn't slippery, there aren't any solid footholds or steps to help. No handles either.

I inch myself closer to the rock wall, trying to find imperfections in the rock face that could work as handholds for me as we head down. Zelda follows suit, and even Pamela does too.

It's dark and we're practically using touch only to get down. My hands brush across the canyon walls, trying to press towards it as much as I can. I'd rather get so close I skin the bridge if my nose or something from a sharp dent then tumble down onto the rocky ground.

It takes more doing than the bridges, since we go at a snail's pace, but soon enough we're back on solid ground.

Pamela keeps going, unfazed by anything. She must be used to this nightly venture by now. She's gone from a traumatized little girl who wanted to go back to society to a poe-collecting protégée of her father. Pamela managed to pick herself back up and take to her father's study, even though his study was the root of the problem.

But the land's been healed since that rip-roaring masked menace swept through Termina. I've seen what this land is like healed, and yet I just associated all the mayhem that mask caused with Termina itself and it's inhabitants. For Farore's sake, they're the one who had to face all the horrors I saw, they're the ones who had doom looming over them.

I guess for me, it was just so much because I had to relive it again and again. I ended up saving all the souls I could and get all the masks, but by the end this place had been sapped of humanity and I only saw it as a ticking time bomb and a list of tasks to complete and time tables. They weren't people anymore. Sleep lost all meaning, it's use gone. I was miserable. A hero and yet no one remembered me. It was so lonely, even though Tatl was there with me.

By the end of it all, I was so disconnected from humanity. I didn't care about saving the people of Termina. I wasn't even thinking of them anymore. I just wanted for myself, the selfish way out. I wanted an escape.

But these few days here have shown that these people had moved on. Of course, the moon was only a three day terror for them while it felt like a lifetime to me, but they still continued in their life. Telling Zelda just made me realize how stupid and pathetic I sounded. I was resentful and bitter and tormented by this place, that wasn't the problem, it was a victim to the mask's dark powers.

And for Hylia's sake, nothing is as scary as it was in my self-concocted blasts to the past. Zelda must just think I'm mentally unstable. And I don't think I'd deny or disagree with that.

The lower part of the canyon is a circular valley, with a path leading out of to the field and one side road to the graveyard. That's where Pamela is headed, but she goes slow enough to help guide us along.

"Those horse gates are still a pain and a half in the neck, but you should be able to clear 'em." She freezes in her spot, "Oh. And good luck getting back."

"Uh... thanks. You too, with the poes."

She gives us a wave without looking back, and then she's up the small ledge and disappeared behind the canyon wall.

Without Pamela here as a guide, the gravity of the situation sets in and there's an air of uneasiness.

I get wrapped up in my thoughts. Even though there's still a chance everything hasn't completely fallen apart in the days we've been gone, I can't shake off the bad feeling that's taken up residence in my head. I've seen first hand how fast things can become bad news bears, and we were already outnumbered by his forces to begin with. The siege at Kakariko only dwindled our numbers more, and I bet we've been absolutely decimated since then. He's driving us to the ground. We already didn't have a chance pathetically enough, but it's ridiculous how much the Hylians are getting destroyed. And now that Ganondorf also has the might of the Gorons- and apparently their allegiance too, the chances of us making it out alive are even more unreasonably slim. Great.

Once we make it out of the canyon, the field opens up and there's grass again. Clock Town is in the distance, the tower is a silhouette against the starry night sky. We'll just cut through the east sector and then go inside the tower. Then it's back home.

The guard is in the eastern opening, turning around when he hears us, his armor clanks together.

He lets us through and I head down the stairs and towards the inn. Every light is off, except the Milk Bar of course, since that place is practically open all night.

The princess is close behind me and I can almost feel the anxiety that's no doubt pumping through her right now. Even though I'm expecting the worse like she probably is, my nerves are more consumed by adrenaline than anything. Flight or fight. Too bad we're running right back into the thick of things.

I've just reached the tunnel right next to the Clock Tower when I feel the princess grab my hand.

I turn my head to look over my shoulder at her. I can already tell something is wrong. Even though she doesn't look afraid or nervous, she's the queen of calm after all, but I can see worry in her eyes.

"What if..."

"I know."

There's no need for her to explain, my mind's already in the same place as hers.

I just keep walking, the sooner we can get back then we can assess the damage and continue on. The anticipation is already eating away at me, it's the enigma of it all.

South Clock Town is likewise devoid of people, which is just fine. As long as there's none of those goddess darned Gerudos, I'll rest easy.

Although, the silence is almost eerie. It's too deep to seem normal, like there's no sound except us breathing and our footsteps on the pavement. It might just be nerves though.

We get down the steps and then turn to the Clock Tower, it's doors closed and waiting.

They push open easily and Zelda and I clamber down the steps. It's as dank and crumbling as ever, even more so. But there's no mask salesman, which is always a good thing. He really made this place, as decrepit and run down as it is, seem even more creepy. The grey stone has some cracks and chips in it and there's a gross layer of blueish green mold in splotches everywhere. The wooden post in the middle powers the clock is rotating with the familiar grind, powering the clock above. There's gears clanking together too, on the ceiling above, but I take the lead on over to the staircase that leads back to the portal.

I tried to escape while I was here last time, but there were impenetrable stone doors over the entrance, trapping me here. Hopefully they're still open.

The dampness only seems to grow as we get down the slippery and moldy staircase. This place is in ruins, with old gears and cigs and to the side is a river, which turns the post with powers the clock. Somehow, the water isn't disgusting, it's still relatively clear.

And then the portal, which is visible through the vines and moss and stone. The doors have receded back into the wall, giving us passage back to Hyrule.

The portal like those reception hallways in the Forest Temple, which has a similar level of creepiness to under the Clock Tower. It twists and fades into a purplish fog, the walls covered in twisting and spiraling vines, suffocating each other in the dark as they fight for survival.

I can feel her grip on my hand intensify, and I squeeze back. We've got to be ready for anything.

Before I can hesitate too long and psych myself out, I dash headfirst into the tunnel, feeling reality shift around me as we start going in loops, the world turning upside down.

———

The forest appears back before us, which surprises me. It's been so long since I left Termina and I was in a paranoid daze. I don't remember anything about that day. All I felt was relief, but I was still shrouded in paranoia.

We're right on the edge of the hole again, partially under the tree trunk.

There's a wave of dizziness coupled with sudden nausea, and I have to grip the tree bark so I don't fall back into Termina again.

Something about the forest feels different- there's an odd acrid scent that burns my lungs when I take a breath to try and calm my nerves down.

My head's against the bark but I look up and towards the forest.

There's a layer of grey and white powder, ash, on the ground, and there's many trees that are blackened and without leaves. Burned.

The hazy fog and the fumes make sense now. Smoke.

Even though I had a sneaking suspicion all chaos had broken loose, it never crossed my mind that the forest could be caught in the crossfire. That was naïve of me to think, that the kokiris could be spared the decimating effects of war. Guess not. I don't know why that crushes me as much as it does. I've just always seen this place as peaceful and serene and disconnected from the rest of Hyrule. The kokiri don't change and neither does their forest. Only innocence here.

But I guess the grim and mature horrors of the world have bled into the forest too. It's war... nowhere's safe.

I curl my fingers to make fists, forcing myself to stand on my own away from the tree bark. The world pitches and sways but I hold fast. The princess is in a likewise position as I was, holding onto the wall like a lifeline.

Seeing the remains of a fire has flared my paranoia and my skin's crawling with nerves. We need to get out of here and find the rest of the Hylians. There's a really bad feeling forming in the pit of my stomach.

I know it's inpatient and insensitive of me, but I coax the princess away from the wood as gently as I can, her fingernails are digging into my arm as she takes hold of me.

All there's left to do is get down and then go the wrong way out- which I'm very good at doing by accident, so it should be easy- and then get the heck on to the ranch. Or wherever they are now.

The iron grip on my arm starts to recede as she seems to gain her balance again, which is a relief for my skin. Even though I have long sleeves on, I wouldn't be surprised to find crescent shaped red marks later.

My adrenaline starts to replace the anxiety as we gain distance from the portal in the tree, back into Hyrule proper.

But then there's a noice behind me that makes me stop. A metal _ring_. The blood starts to pound in my ears again and I start to grab my sword but I'm slow. I'm always too goddess darned slow.

I can feel Zelda ripped away from me, and I turn on my heel, already knowing exactly who it is.

Our redhead best friends. And boy... do they look happy to see us.


	30. Half-dead

I've barely got my sword out when one of the Gerudos comes at me, her amber eyes leer at me, the only part of her face that's visible. Even in the dark, they seem to glow, as if there's still fire in the forest. And there could very well still be, the Lost Woods stretch on a long ways.

I block one of her blades with mine, watching the other Gerudo get a knife over the princess' throat, holding her in a death grip.

This once again proves bad things happen to me. And geez... does it go south fast. The goddesses must love me.

I've got to get out of this fight and deal with Zelda's current predicament and quick.

But I doubt they're going to kill her. They want her for something, or else her throat would be slit by now. She's right where they want her for that. There's a purpose they have to keep the princess and last heir of Hyrule alive. I don't know what it is, but at least I can count on them not killing her yet. At least, not until I provoke them into it. That can't happen.

I don't know what my relationship is with the princess anymore, but I won't let her lose her life because of my stupidity.

I push against her attack, and she almost lets my sword slash her at her shoulder. And, that turns out to be a mistake. She let her guard down, I had mine down too.

For the sixth time, there's a searing pain that explodes across my abdomen. The most pathetic part, even more than the pain, is that I'm used to the feeling by now.

Somehow I have a feeling that the Gerudos all know about this "weak point" and are just doing it to spite me even more. Fan-freaking-tastic.

I backpedal away from her sword, working around the pain as I try to keep my focus. My heartbeat is the loudest thing and my eyes connect with Zelda's which are frozen with fear. There's nothing she can do. I don't know what to do either. They've got the high ground, the Gerudos are in control. Anything I do could endanger the princess.

In that moment of distraction, I feel more flames erupt across my body. The double scimitars. Of course.

My strength, even though it's just coming back to me, is already sapped. I can barely manage to fend off her attacks as the metal finds blood again and again. This needs to stop. That's about the only thought my hazy mind can come up with.

Zelda's in such dire straits she doesn't even seem annoyed by my lack of offense- or defense, for that matter. The terror of the moment is too vivid and prevalent. Death is only a few slices away for the both of us.

I don't know what to do. I'm using my shield the best I can but I'm weak and it'll only be a matter of time until I pass out cold from blood loss. My tunic is already ripped in some places and the bloodied parts cling to my torso. Same thing with my pants. It's well beyond the healthy amount of blood at this point. The metallic stench is overpowering, but I can barely sense it because of how overwhelming everything else is.

Being delusional about my current condition will only kill me quicker. Truth is, I can't keep this up much longer, any resilience I had is snapped.

But the princess. If I let them get away with her I bet her fate will be worse than death. Especially if she's stubborn about forking over the Royal secrets. And for the love of Nayru... she's definitely strong willed. I guess the golden goddesses don't smile upon her either. Shame.

Like before, on the way to the woods, the blade of the knife is held against her throat, and there's a small bit of blood I can barely make out on her neck.

My mind is swimming and the pain has overcome me to the point where it doesn't feel like anything. I'm a wreck, completely busted up from the look of it.

I'm trying to avoid the slashes but any agile evasion I could do before is completely out the window. I'm stumbling as I try to keep away from her sword and to remain upright.

She snarls at me and there's one of the Gerudo signature predatory eye glints. I seriously don't know why she hasn't... what's the word? Oh yeah. _Disposed_ of me.

Something else is going on but I'm too out of it to make a mental note.

My breaths are starting to come in bursts as the urge to pass out starts fighting with my crumbling resolve.

There's a flash of light that comes out of nowhere and I squint over at the source of the blast, which is strangely familiar. There's a yellow orb, so bright that it looks more white than anything. It hovers in between the princess' hands, which are slightly outstretched in front of herself.

Her face is barely visible through the blinding rays, severe shadows cut at her face and she seems to glow.

I can't make out much of her eyes but I can almost sense her intentions for me. For what she's done.

It's a distraction.

I hesitate slightly and her concentration flickers as she studies my face.

I've got to go now.

I nod my head in defeat, submitting to the queen's will. She put herself in charge of me and now she's telling me to make a break for it. But I failed to protect her. Now she's in the hands of the Gerudo and therefore Ganondorf. Why did she sacrifice herself for this? For me?

Zelda has the magic to teleport for Din's sake and yet she's using her power to give me a chance to get away. I can't tell if it's because she might maybe actually love me or because she's just as out of it as I am.

But there's no time to think, I tear my gaze away from the light, leaving blue dots to dance across my vision, and start running somewhere. The light starts to recede as I get further from the Gerudo and the princess, deeper into the undergrowth and under the cover of trees.

———

Time seems to lose all meaning and I'm barely holding on to my last shreds of consciousness. I can tell I'm back in a more familiar neck of the woods.

The pain still hasn't stopped, and it's almost crippling me. The flares ebb and flow and currently they're trying their darnedest to incapacitate me.

The wave comes and stars pop and crack across my vision. I manage to bite back my groan and find the nearest tree, digging my fingers into the rough bark, trying to get a grip.

Tendrils of unconsciousness are creeping into me and I start to feel heavier. My mind seems to self implode into nothingness and I can't comprehend the contents of my head.

There's only one thing that keeps me crashing forward through the foliage, and that's just muscle memory, the instinct to survive.

The smoke is almost thicker here, closer to where the Deku Tree and the kokiri lived. My lungs are on fire and my eyes are watering from the acrid smog. There's charred remains of trees and lots of half-burned husks of trees.

The world comes apart even more when my vision starts to swim. It's a distorted, twisted mess.

Paranoia lurks behind me and overhead, sending me running. Why am I running? Where should I go?

I know where I am by now, even the trees are familiar. In my moment of weakness, I cling to that past and start to head back to my tree. Back where I'd decided to return that cursed ocarina.

Would this even be happening if not for seeing Zelda again? I can't be sure. But running off here to protect the princess has spurred something in motion. And... let's face it, I bet all of this unraveling and coming apart was by divine intervention. Zelda, Ganondorf and I are still as tied together was ever.

I'm so close to the place I called home for around a decade and yet my legs decide to give out, and I fall to the ground, which brings on another symphony of pain from my hard fall.

I can't hold back the sound of pain as I grit my teeth and force myself to sit up.

I don't know if I can stand right now. The pain's back in full force and I don't want to further aggravate my body. It's at the breaking point as it is.

But I won't stop moving. I don't know if I'm being pursued and I can't afford to stick around long enough to find out. I need to put distance between myself and whoever is trying to find me.

Am I tired? I don't know, I feel restless though. Too wired to sleep a wink. It's so late and yet early at the same time, through the thick layer of lush trees, I can see the sky start to brighten. Soon it'll be day. I don't know if I should be relieved or not.

I end up practically dragging myself on the ground, my fingers dig into the soft earth to help push myself. I can feel a sticky substance spreading over my stomach and arms and legs as I pathetically struggle through the forest. It takes a second to realize exactly what that is.

Blood. Too much.

I'm so out of it I barely noticed how profusely the flow has been. And it hasn't stopped. Not a single clot from what I feel without having to actually get my fingers on my bloodied shirt.

It's almost slippery, and the ground eats it up, the dirt gets mushier and almost squelches. I really really hope I don't throw up. The nausea has returned too, triggered by the horrible metallic stench as the feeling of my blood on my torso.

Yeah... I'm definitely blacking out soon. I've held out long enough.

Better make my last moments of wakefulness worth it.

There's a new determination within me, and I try to get myself as close to somewhere, anywhere safe before the inevitable.

I don't know how long I'll be out, I can barely think about anything. I'm just hoping I don't die of blood loss while I'm out like that. That's the best my half-dead brain can come up with.

I make it through a cluster of trees and into a small clearing that's been touched by the flames. One of the less scorched trees still has a nice, warm colored bark surrounded by some crumpled piles of what must've once been some grass or flowers or ferns. It's a better place than any. There's some tall grass around the trunk too.

It's a better spot than any, and I'm desperate for anything.

There's no way I'm scaling this thing in my condition, and I don't even know if the tree can handle my weight right now.

Nothing I can do but settle for the grass next to the trunk and try to get somewhat comfortable.

I know I must look pathetic... so goddess darned pathetic. I can feel the blood keep forming a small and concerning pile around me, but I just let it, riding out into unconsciousness on waves of pain.

———

Usually when I'm injured I'll fade into wakefulness, but this time I jerk awake, still in survival mode, which is a stupid idea. I'm still injured.

That's when I make several realizations at once.

I'm bandaged, which would be impossible if I'm still alone in the Lost Woods. My blood would've clotted on its own naturally, but I can feel cloth wrapped around my bare chest and arms.

I'm not at whatever tree my broken body collapsed at either. But from what I can tell, with my brain trying to catch up with everything else, I'm still in the forest.

And Zelda.

The mind fog is dispersing and I'm starting to sort through the chaos that happened way too fast.

Why did she do it? She sacrificed herself for me. And now she's probably at the castle being tortured.

As much as I want to believe I could've somehow prevented it, she'd never allow it. There wasn't anything I could even do. They had her a knife point after all.

Did they kill her for that little magic trick? Even though I'm already thinking the worst, part of me knows they need her. Zelda would've already been dead otherwise. She's still alive.

There's a thud against my arm which brings on another throb of pain, followed by the voice of one of my least favorite people.

"Hey idiot! Guess who finally came back?"

Even though I'm still half asleep, I turn my head to glare at Mido, stopping myself from gripping my arm where the lil' bugger slugged me.

I'm not even surprised to see him, even though I'm still very confused and lost. I guess my annoyance supersedes all else. Cause geez... waking up to see _Mido_ of all people is a cruel turn of events.

"Stop it, he's injured you know."

I see Saria appear behind Mido, and she shoved him away. He gives me a dirty look, which I am healthy enough to return. I may have almost died, but I can still face off against Mido.

After glancing around more, I can see the other children and their fairies also in the clearing. While there are some small scrapes and bruises, no one's seriously hurt.

"We went into the forest right after you warned us. The Forest Temple's meadow seemed as good a place as any, so I took everyone here."

I nod, glancing up at the looming stone structure, with a most crumbled, decrepit stairway.

"What happened to the rest of the forest? The Deku Tree... your homes..."

My voice is scratchy from breathing in smoke earlier and from disuse.

"I don't know, I-"

"I know," Mido pipes in, his face practically glows with pride, "I snuck back there yesterday. The fire's pretty bad. I think they started it at your treehouse Mr. faux kokiri."

"Oh wow. How sad." I deadpan. I'm pretty sure that's a falsehood, and even if it isn't, I don't live there anymore. It's too small for me. But it could very well be the truth. If the Gerudo knew what my house looked like. And heck... Ganondorf hates me enough to pull that off.

Saria's still stuck in some state of shock, staring at Mido like he has a third eye or something.

"You what?!"

"I wanted to see what was going on."

"Do you know happened to the Deku Tree then Mido? Or should I say... the Great Mido?"

"Can it faux kokiri." It's funny how quick I can turn his overconfident bravado into an irritated growl.

He seems to shake off the momentary anger, a serious look on his face.

"I'm serious. The Deku Tree looked intact but I don't know exactly, like... partially burned?"

Yeah, it makes sense. I bite my lip.

"Okay...." Saria drawls out, and I can see her attention turn back to me, "what happened to you? The twins were going out to see the damage and found you unconscious and covered in blood."

"I got in a fight," I can see the concern on her face but I try to smile to lighten the mood. They're kids... sure, they're all older than me technically, but they don't know anything but their leisurely lives in the forest. My passed out and bloody appearance must've been a shock. A slap in the face. "I'm okay, thanks for patching me up by the way."

I start to stand up, feeling my body protest, but I fight against it. I don't want to worry these kids too much. They've already lost their homes to flames.

Saria and Mido look unconvinced but I keep myself upright somehow, concentrating so hard on keeping my knees from buckling. My head is swimming but at this moment I know that I can't stay, there's things I need to do.

"I need to go back."

Even though I don't specify what I mean, even the two Kokiri seem to know exactly what I'm talking about.


	31. Onto the mature and the morbid

I know that look.

It's a bossy and also mildly annoyed expression I used to always procure from her after getting in another fist fight with Mido. But it feels completely unwarranted this time.

"I'm going whether you like it or not, okay? Geez... I'm an adult for Farore's sake and there's things I need to do."

There's a sharp intake of breath from Saria's direction and I can see the annoyance on her face deepen.

She's too irritated at me to say anything so she resigns to glaring at me.

I don't care if she doesn't want me to leave. I am. Sure, it's only been around a day since they found me lying in a puddle of blood under a tree. But still. I'm leaving.

"I'm not that hurt." I retort, I can almost hear her thoughts as she glances at my bloody tunic, the only one I have, that has lovely rips where you can see the bandages. I feel like a freaking Gibdo.

Her glare becomes more sinister as she deadpans me, "You know Mido said the same thing after he tried to kill a wolfos."

Oh sweet merciful Din, why is she bringing that up again? Especially when she's comparing him to me.

It was long before I'd ever left the woods, and Mido was over-confident and arrogant... he hasn't changed a bit, so of course his brain was clouded with delusional visions of grandeur and faux bravado. Mido thought it was a _great_ idea to go and provoke a gang of wolfos, talking about how he'd show everyone he was a hero or whatever. We all trudged into the woods after him, with his confident strut and a wooden sword he'd made himself. I just went for the laughs since these jaunts were always at least mildly entertaining. Watching Mido make a fool of himself was one of highlights of my childhood with the kokiri. At that moment, there was some camaraderie between me and the other kokiris, not just Saria like usual. We were all united in our making-fun of Mido. It didn't matter that I didn't have a fairy like everyone else or that I was the local outcast.

Anyway, Mido got the ever-loving crap beaten out of him, and it was hilarious. If I remember correctly, I laughed until I cried. He had to take it easy for a good week or two, playing a perfect victim and bossing around his cronies from his bed. And yet, even as he was being a big baby about the whole ordeal, he still claimed he wasn't hurt. Liar.

I can feel a scowl form on my face, "I'm acting nothing like him. He was being a twerp. You already know he's delusional."

"I am not!" Mido's voice is barely heard, he's up on the top of the broken stairs leading to the Forest Temple with his cronies, tempting danger as usual. There's more wolfos in there after all, his weakness.

"Link..."

Oh great, now she's trying to pull the concerned card. I'm sick and tired of getting other people's pity.

"What?" I say too aggressively, seeing her shrink away from me, I sigh, "Look, I understand you don't want me to leave, but I have to. They took her and for all I know they're giving her the beating of a lifetime. And not only that... I have to see who lived and..."

There's so much on my shoulders again, even though I had promised myself I'd never have to carry the weight of the world again. There's nothing really holding me to this place, there's no real obligation that I need to help save Hyrule again. Why am I still being pulled back into this mess?

I know why. It's because I failed her. I was supposed to protect the princess and yet she's now been taken by the Gerudo. I can't let her die from my stupidity. I don't know what she is to me anymore, maybe I do love her. But I need to get her out of their hands anyway. We can't have her spilling the secrets or dying. Because I know Zelda is too stubborn to cave that easily.

"Will you at least try to be safe? Don't do anything stupid like going off by yourself."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I'll try not to."

I nod, trying to make my smile seem less sad and worried. Saria has enough to deal with as it is, but they'll make do. The whole of the Lost Woods haven't been burned, they can still live here.

———

I don't want to waste anymore time, so I leave as soon as I get my wraps redone.

I look like a wreck, beaten and bloody and bruised, but that isn't anything new. I'm too impatient to wait for myself to heal. Things could go south even more.

It's late morning, and even though it's a nice and breezy day, there isn't much life in the forest. I guess that died too with all the trees and plants burned to crisps and husks. There's still ash and debris but I just trudge through the ash and the crumbling blackened pieces of wood.

I manage to find my way out of the maze and back to the remains of the village.

It's just as utterly scorched as Mido claimed it to be. Some of the houses are still standing, although discolored with burn marks and ash, but others are completely demolished. And hey, he wasn't kidding about how jacked up my old treehouse is.

Might as well go over and check the damage out.

The ivy on the ledge is largely unscathed so I use it to scale down and then I walk through the abandoned collection of houses- looking as akin to a ghost town as the Forest Temple is infested with poes, which is to say a lot.

I make it down the small incline to where my house lies, somewhat set back from the others.

Maybe Mido wasn't kidding they started the fire at my old home. I get out a mirth filled laugh, because as much as that twerp gets on my nerves, he was right. Much to my chagrin.

Part of it is still intact, but a large part is a burnt husk, the wood crumbled into ash. It's almost ironic that my dumb carving is still there.

I remember the day I decided to make the darned thing. It was another lonely day, and I decided to try and come up with a more interesting and rewarding life. Thus, a discarded stick figure and some lizard-like creature emerged, forever immortalized in the tree bark. It survived a freaking fire for Din's sake.

I get up to the bark and trace my finger along the crude and clumsy lines. The strokes aren't even. Some sections gouge deeper into the wood while others are almost too faint.

My hand lingers on the bark but I have to snap myself back to the present. I'm not that kid anymore. Sure, I may still be as lonely and aloof or whatever, but being the ostracized outcast isn't my problem anymore. I'm dealing with the morbid and the mature. And I need to be ready for anything. I've already failed enough in that front. I nearly died yesterday.

I give one last glance over the shoulder at my former home and solace from everyone after returning from Termina, a changed person. As cliché and stupid as it sounds, there is a note of finality when I look back at the smoldering remains of my childhood, with fading wisps of smoke still plaguing the sky.

War bleeds into everything. I need to make him bleed.

The bridge squeaks a little under my feet but doesn't give and I get through the tunnel out of the forest, and back into Hyrule proper.

———

It doesn't occur to me until I'm around halfway to the ranch that I should be more alert. Monsters were roaming the field before the Hylian Army's latest downfall and massacre, so it seems more likely to see some more of the famed beasties now.

The day's turning muggy even as the wind tries to combat the unwavering heat with little success. My bangs are glued to my forehead and I can feel the sweat soaking my bandages and making my tunic skin to my skin. It's gross, the whole world is some giant festering stew.

The sun decided to become glaringly hot, and without tree cover, it's practically unbearable, but there's no choice but to keep moving, drenched in sweat.

I can see small blobs of which I assume are monsters, and over in the direction of Kakariko, the tiny, faraway stairway seems painted in red. There's some dark figures near the morbid piece of art, which are no doubt bodies. _Rotting_ bodies.

I wonder how many of us even remain after that double attack. The casualties must be detrimental.

Even if some of those bodies are monsters or Gerudo, I know at least as many or more Hylians died in the fights, especially those injured soldiers at the ranch. They were less prepared for battle than any of those fighting. And those unfit for battle from the start...

Malon definitely isn't unfit for battle, but she never was enlisted to fight. Maybe she should've been, she'd punch Ganondorf's giant nose in, make him bleed. If she's angry enough, this war could've wrapped up quicker. And geez... I hope she doesn't kill me once I tell her about maybe actually loving Zelda, which I tried to deny and forget. That will be a hard conversation to say the least.

It's morbid and horrible, but it might be a good thing if she didn't make it in the sneak attack. I won't even have to deliver the painful and awkward truth, telling her I actually love someone else.

Are they even still at the ranch? I'm keeping close to its rocky walls, making my way in a curve towards the entrance, and dread has started to broil within me. What if I don't find anything there? What is it ruined? Or worse, overrun with monsters and the rest of Ganondorf's forces? What would I do then?

I may be feeling better, but I don't think I'm in good enough shape to singlehandedly defeat any number of Ganondorf's forces, especially the Gerudo. Even if it was a stalfos or a moblin, I don't want to exert myself too hard and end up injuring myself again. They're just starting to all scab up, and that's a lot of progress from bleeding out under a tree. Cracking them will only make me more bloody and ticked off.

As much as I want to wreak havoc and be completely reckless, I know that's the "stupid stuff" Saria was warning me again.

The rock wall is set in shadow, and I decide to get the side of my face up to the wall, feeling part of the cool smooth surface seep into me. My eyes go out towards Castle Town and Kakariko, seeing the destruction visible from here, the only two places where Hylians commonly made their homes and livelihoods. They've been dislocated now.

My mind also goes out to Zelda, my gaze rests on one of the castle spires, barely visible over the other ruined buildings in town and the rolling hills.

I wonder how she's holding up.

I know it's a death wish to rush into battle alone and unprepared to get her back, but I feel the need to do it, to not only protect her like I was asked but to just have her back and out of a dangerous situation.

The fierce sense of care and protection catches me off guard. It's one of the first times as of late that I've not only acknowledged my former and apparently still existent love for her, but also not denying it. It's a foreign feeling, but I just let it be. As much as I want to forget about whatever transpired between us in Termina and return to my happy little flick with Malon, I'm not stupid enough to think that'd be the right choice. I may have liked Malon, but that's all it was, a cute flick, but only a flicker at that. In hindsight, it's almost as if I tried so hard to pursue our small and blossoming relationship to spite Zelda, which is the worst part. I was just subconsciously using Malon to send a message to the princess.

Malon deserves so much better than me. Someone who won't make a fictitious relationship and end up cheating. Heck, Edmund would make a better boyfriend than me.

The lone tree in front of the ranch is one of the few in this half of the field, looking lonelier and more weary than usual. It was always a somewhat puny tree, it's trunk is scrawny and the leaves were there, just not very big. It never was a sturdy tree. But it's held up, even through Ganondorf's reign and this war.

There's a pit of dread forming in me when I start walking up the path. Because really, how could we have managed to not only survive but hold them back too?

Seems that my suspicions were warranted. The stench of blood hits me like a brick wall and I blanch at the sight of death sprawled all around. There's monsters here too, although I haven't been noticed yet.

Even though most of the bodies have been piled on top of one another like a human bonfire, there's still some mutilated and rotting corpses hanging out on patches of blood stained earth.

It's disgusting and downright disturbing. Is there anyone I know in that pile rotting away? Ed? Malon?

I manage to tear my eyes away from the grotesque destruction and stumble back into the field, trying to push away my nausea.

There might still be a chance some Hylians managed to survive... right? Where would they even be?

Kakariko and Castletown are out of he question, the ranch and Goron City too. Kokiri Forest has been burned too, and besides, everyone avoids the woods because of the legends and poe stories. That leaves Lake Hylia and Zora's Domain.

Wait.

Didn't the Zoras strike an alliance with us? I can barely remember that faraway meeting, but it's the only lead I have.

We've been scattered to the wind, forced to hide again. We can't catch a break, can we? As much as I know about the legends of the golden goddesses, even Hylia herself, we sure are given the short end of the shaft a lot of the time.

I'm going as fast as I can without being too reckless, trying to keep my mind on the task at hand and not at the ranch or the castle to my back. It really would be a suicide mission to try and get her back myself, something only a desperate idiot would do. I'm not that desperate yet, there's still some chance of being reasonable and level headed before I lose it, but we can't have the last heir of Hyrule dying on us.


	32. Breaking point

_~ Zelda ~_

I think out of every hostage these desert warriors have had, I may be the most stubborn.

It's been a day since I woke up, weak and sore, back inside the castle, now a decrepit ruin and crawling with all flavors of his minions. It's almost disturbing how quickly Ganondorf turned this place into his new base of operations. But I guess it's only natural, he's done this all before. It must be a calculated art by now, the act of thievery.

He's so hungry and desperate for any semblance of power or dominion that he'll let the world burn, let everything become under his control. And Ganondorf will still want more.

This ruined castle and a lead in the war is enough to appease him for now, but it won't last.

———

The window in my bedroom is cracked, cutting a hairline fracture against the dreary courtyard below.

I don't know why I'm even being given this luxury of staying in my old room, unearthed. For as much as they like me, I thought my end would be to rot in the dungeons.

This isn't much better, there's been no attempts to try and repair the damage they caused. The Gerudo only bothered to put out the fires.

Even though it's been a day or so since I woke up here, stuck in a heavy daze. The last thing I can consciously remember about that day is getting my hands out from behind my back and channeling my power. Then there was darkness after that. Those two Gerudo must've knocked me out after he got away.

At the time, it had seemed the best choice, but whatever they'd done to punish my actions has landed me in a world of hurt. It was the only thing either of us could do. He couldn't kill one of them even if he tried, and if he managed to do it, I'd be dead.

I let my icy fingers brush up to my throat, where there's the thin scar against my windpipe. The pain flares up at the contact, and it's sticky with drying blood. My whole body aches from the questioning yesterday, I can feel the bruises blossoming on my back.

As much as it hurts, they were being tame. I could've been whipped for Nayru's sake. I was practically asking for it, my lips were sealed. They aren't getting all the secrets of Hyrule that easily.

I start when I hear something kick through the rubble, turning my head from the window.

The door is ajar and I can see a Gerudo, only giving me the flick of her head. There's a glint in her eye, as if she's taunting me to try and defy her. I won't. All that'll do is make their already existing disdain for me grow.

I pick my way across the bits of stone and charred remains of furniture over to her, giving her a stone cold glare in return.

She spins on her heel and starts down the hallway, which has a gaping hole sending pale light into the otherwise dim corridor.

I can feel my panic start to spike but I focus on keeping my breaths even. They've barely just begun to try and crack the secrets out of me. I can't betray my people now. Never. The sooner they break me the sooner I'll cave in and let them destroy everything I stand for.

I'm not that desperate yet, but if I keep resisting the torture one day it will become unbearable. Ratting out the secrets of the Sacred Realm that I'd sworn to protect is something I'd like to avoid. The want to end the pain will grow to be stronger than all else though, and I need to be mentally prepared for that.

Wisdom may have its uses, but what I need now is a blessing of endurance. Endurance to brace against their attacks and the want to spill my secrets. I won't give them the satisfaction. I can't let our fight or my sacrifices made to be in vain.

There is some sense of intuition though. It isn't as clear or profound as the few visions I've had in my life, but turns out Nayru hasn't left me with nothing. I'm pretty sure I could've just predicted how this will go.

It's almost ironic how my the one who's guiding me down to him, I'm the one who knows this place like the back of my hand. She's an intruder. But whatever, I'm a hostage now.

I've been one before, but I was just used as bait for Link. I was so naïve, it was my quest that he followed which led to Ganondorf gaining his Triforce piece. All the misery that ensued was my doing. It was stupid to reveal myself to him at the Temple of Time... I should've known what the outcome could be, but I saw my mistakes and regretted them too late.

And the one he hated the most, sending him back.

It's almost too soon when I see the looming double doors leading to the throne room, where Ganondorf has already seemed to have claimed it as his own.

I don't feel ready when the Gerudo starts to pull the doors open, opening up to the long and narrow room, a now burnt and ratty carpet down the middle of the floor. There's still so much worry and dread broiling within me and I need to make sure none of it comes out, I can't let any of them see my inner turmoil.

The windows look out into the courtyard to the right, now a mess of overgrown weeds. There's an air of unkemptness permeating everything in the castle now. The Gerudos stormed it and let it crash and burn. It's a good thing they didn't leave out the bodies though.

I feel a hand roughly grab my shoulder and start to shove me forward. It's the Gerudo. Her eyes jeer at me while she gives an almost evil grin. I can feel myself grow uneasy from her gaze, but I have to fend it off. This nastiness is nothing.

I keep my balance from the shove and pick up my pace, setting my jaw. I need to be cold and stubborn. That's the only way to endure this.

I don't want to look at him but I can't help but meet his amber gaze, even more sharp and jaded than the other Gerudo. Then of course there's his entitled sneer. My blood boils beneath my skin with both anger and disgust but I bite my tongue against any retorts. Being stubborn to protect everyone is one thing, inciting the thief's wrath with snarky quips is a whole other thing.

This interrogation and my hostage situation isn't diplomatic in the least, but I still need to keep a level head. Angering them will only make the situation worse for both me and my people. Desperate times call for it. I have enough authority to hold my own against him but right now it feels like anything but.

I can't tell if I want to cower or to try and attack him, but I stand my ground, keeping my face neutral, almost bored.

He starts to talk, his voice is low and filled to the brim with venom, although I can tell he's trying his best to cover it up with as much diplomacy and pleasantry as he can muster. It's a pathetic attempt though. I can see right through his coverup.

"Why hello _princess_ , I hope today you will decide to cooperate."

Ganondorf's voice makes my skin crawl, and reading in between his words I can practically see the threats. His eyes are narrowed, his red eyebrows furrowed over them.

I quirk an eyebrow with a slight smirk, "I guess you'll have to see..." I say.

There's a predatory flash in his eyes and he repositions himself on my father's throne, the one that should've been mine now. But I wouldn't expect anything less of a good-for-nothing thief.

I can see him look beyond me, giving the slight jerk of his head. I hear a set of footsteps come from behind, muffled by the carpet. Backup for if I decide to be difficult.

"The ocarina."

I knew he'd bring that up first. Ganondorf already knows where the spiritual stones are, and if he doesn't have all of them yet it will only be a matter of time. The Gorons are on their side, so he must have the Goron's Ruby at least, maybe the emerald too. The Zoras will be harder. Last I knew, their alliance with us was still intact and they're too prideful and aloof to stoop so low as to just handing him the darn stone.

I don't respond, staying silent just as I did yesterday.

It's with him, wherever he ran off to. My mind drifts back over to him, the blinding light and his face. I could tell he didn't want to leave me there, but he didn't try to interfere. But self preservation won out and he left. I hope he's not dead, his bloody corpse rotting in the forest somewhere.

"Answer me." Ganondorf throws the next phrase out through clenched teeth, packed full of his wrath, all of his faux niceties gone.

I just stare back at his livid expression.

"Where. Is. It." The words are so choppy and clipped and it's almost as if steam is coming out of his ears. The air seems to bend and curl around him, as if he's radiating heat. My insides twist but my resolve still stands. He's going to try a few more times, but then that will be it.

As much as he tries to make himself the ruler of all, Ganondorf sure does work himself into a tizzy without much effort. His rage is so fiery and passionate and complete. This isn't the slow burn of passive aggression, this is full on caustic and explosive anger.

The feeling of power is intense, and so is his anger. It's because he feels entitled to it all. He sees the world as his for the taking, and if I give him the keys into the Sacred Realm, his Triforce piece will aid him. But the longer I postpone it the angrier he'll become.

I can see his angry breaths start to mold into laughter, deep and rumbling like the thunder that accompanied him in that long ago dream. The notes turn sinister, reverberating off the stone walls.

"Always the stubborn one... weren't you?" A sly grin replaces his scowl, eyes flashing.

I'm roughly grabbed again by the wrists, as a Gerudo starts to manhandle me out of the room.

"They'll take you to your breaking point, just on the edge of death. You'll be wishing you could die." It's as low as a growl, and I barely hear it. But I can still make it out.

The severity and weight of his words should I don't know... shock me more? Terrify me? But this was coming. He's not letting me get away so easily again. This time he has an army.

———

The Gerudo aren't fooling around.

It seems all tries at diplomacy have been dashed and I've finally been thrown down into the bowels of the castle. The dungeons.

Similarly to the Shadow Temple, this labyrinth underneath the castle was utilized to torture and hold criminals, largely prisoners of war. It's Kakarikan counterpart is connected to the castle through the Sheikah Tunnels, which actas a median linking the two together.

The truth is part of my kingdom's bloody history, and while there are some rumors, most don't know our ugly past.

I've been chained and now my back is against the cold wall, sapping my body heat.

It's near complete darkness down here and I can't make out much of thisroom they've trapped me in. The air is drafty and old, and the lines where the walls and floor meet is a dark outline against this place of shadows.

There's the occasional squeak of a keese from far away, but the only other sound is my breathing.

I don't regret what I did.

I'm buying the Hylians some time. I'm buying Link time.

I close my eyes from what little I can see of my prison and lean my head against the wall.

What fate has befallen the others? Our world was turned into chaos when they sneak attacked us. I don't know who managed to make it out alive, but we could've have all died. They'd have gone somewhere. We may be outmatched against Ganondorf's forces, but this couldn't have wiped everyone out right? I'm trying to have hope, one of the only things I can do in this captivity. Hope and stay strong. But no fighting.

I can't help but think now that somehow I could have escaped this fate. Dohean was right though, I can't fight. I had wanted to go to the Kakariko siege, I had looked for every opportunity to physically help with the war, to show I can be a competent ruler. I was prematurely thrust into this position when the war began, my father's death and the castle invasion acting as the catalyst. But in the end, I couldn't fend off the Gerudo.

We had just left Termina and I was already being held at knife point, a knife digging into my throat. Pathetic. My efforts to fight don't matter in the end if I didn't do it when it counted.

Just as in that other future, my efforts to give him back the one thing I'd taken from him- his childhood- had ultimately traumatized him. As much as he tried to deny it, his panic was a manifestation of his experiences. I caused that.

Not only did I send him off on a fool's journey, but without my intervention, Ganondorf would've never gotten all the power he'd received. It was all my doing, everything had fallen right into Ganondorf's hands.

I can't let it happen again. I gave him all the spiritual stones and myself last time, and now I could give him the ocarina too.

I feel my hands tighten into fists against the grimy stone floor. I don't want his resentment. I don't want Dohean's condescending tone.

I have to be a queen now.

I'll let the Gerudo send me to my breaking point, heck, they can kill me if it comes to it, but I have to step up and be a ruler that's willing to sacrifice all for their people.


	33. Holding on

Something pummels me in the back again and I turn around, trying not to growl like a wild animal.

I'm about halfway down the river and these goddess darned octorocks will not leave me be. Usually it's no problem dodging them, but today I guess I'm a slow moving target, slow enough they have time to chuck rocks at me. Goody.

This is like the fifth time it's happened, so all my irritation is building onto one another to make me more and more fed up. Maybe if someone else was here with me, I'd try to retain some of my dignity, like on the way out of Ikana, but all hope of remaining calm cool and collected goes out the window. The rope's snapped.

"Okay buddy," I'm surprised by how aggressive I sound. You'd think I'd be miffed about something more important. But no. It was a stupid rock throwing pest.

Being alone is looking better by the second, talking to your enemy- a dumb and wild octopus, a public nuisance- is stupid, especially since this sucker and his friends can't even talk.

I waste no time in stepping off the path, a strip of land along the river, and wading into the water. It isn't deep or anything, especially not anymore, but the current is still somewhat strong, I can feel it's pull on me.

The octorock's already cowering away from me, it's pathetic green eyes seem to droop even more from the mere sight of me.

I pull out my sword and shield, almost taunting it to try and attack back. It stares at me for a second, and then it's little brain- truly a genius- comes up with the great idea to try and incite me again. With it's one and only attack. Yep, the rock spitting one.

I've dealt with these guys more times than I'd care to know, so my shield is already up when there's the impact of its rock. As pathetic as always, they're too dense to notice their own projectile whizzing right back at them like some sort of cruel accidental boomerang.

The octorock is knocked down into the water from the force, and I stab it once for good measure, watching it's body start to wash away with a trail of blue blood.

I wade back to shore and keep going. Water squelches around in my boots with every step and I'm miffed about that stupid octorock. Why'd I even jump in?

There's one good thing about it being a sunny day though, I'll be dried off in no time, but my upper half is still doing its best to make me damp with sweat anyways.

I've been up and down this river enough times to be able to do it without really thinking, so my mind wanders off from trekking upstream.

There's a good chance I've guessed right and the Hylians are here, but what if there's no sign of them? I don't believe Ganondorf's forces would've been able to wipe out everyone, so they're still hiding somewhere right? I wish I knew. This jaunt up to Zora's Domain was on a desperate whim, the only lead I had. There aren't many places left that make sense. Lon Lon Ranch is out of the picture, the only Hylians there are the ones in that pile of bodies. It can't be everyone...

I didn't know I was actually feeling hope for them to be at the Domain, but I make the realization when I start to doubt they've managed to hold on. When did I start caring about all these people anyway? That sounds like something a hero would do, and I thought I promised myself I wouldn't be a hero ever again. But heck, I never wanted to see Zelda again and that turned out about as well as not getting stabbed during a fight. A few weeks ago the only thing I really wanted was finding a way to leave and to cut my ties with everyone. Now I'm trudging across thin strips of land and bridges, half soaked and sweaty trying to find those very people I wanted to be rid of. I guess the saying really is true: desperate times call for desperate measures.

———

I managed to fall into the river again, this time by accident, so I'm soaked and muddy and more miffed than ever when I finally trudge all the way up the ledges to the entrance into the Domain.

The waterfall is as in the way as ever, spraying drops of water onto my face as it crashes into the flow of water below. As much as this front security is good defense, it's still a pain to deal with.

You know what... for Farore's sake I'm already wet anyway, might as well.

I lower myself more towards the ground as I sink into a starting position. I've tried jumping through the waterfall as a kid with no avail, but maybe I can manage it now. Compared to all the stab wounds I've procured over such a small period of time, getting drenched and maybe touched up from this seems like a breeze.

I take a deep breath, wanting to get this over with before I realize what a stupid idea this is. I'm doing it.

I push off from the ground and do a quick step towards the empty space between the wall of the cliff and the ledge. The jump comes a bit delayed, and I get my arms up in front of me as some way to compensate for my clumsiness. I can pull myself up if I need to.

Water crashes over me with some mighty force. I grit my teeth as I feel my hands scrabble for purchase on the edge of the opening. It's hard to get a good grip when my hands are wet, making the slippery. My abdomen bashed against the side of the wall, which only brings on a chorus of pain. I can never avoid injuring myself... can I?

Now's probably the most tricky part. Pulling myself up. My hands are starting to lose whatever hold they had on the rock and the waterfall is doing it's absolute best to carry me down with it. The water is right up against my back, and there's trickles of water filling up my boots even more.

I tense my hands even more and try to get as much of an iron grip as I can. I start to try and get a leg up over, which makes more pain pop in my vision as my ribs start to dig into the ledge. I'm almost there though. My hands are now on solid ground and I've got one knee up.

Once I pull the rest of myself up, I stay in a heap on the ground panting like a wolfos. I'm worn out than I'd like to admit, my little impromptu climb only did more to over exert myself. But Zora's Domain is so close that glancing down the dark tunnel I can picture the tall, open cavern in my head.

Before I can get too used to my pathetic position on the ground, I get myself to stand up and start to hobble through the thick darkness, the only light fading behind me as I leave the waterfall.

My eyes have just spotted the rocky ledge over the clear pool of water when I feel something start to dig into my throat. There's a strong grip on my hands too, which found their way to my back, handcuffing me.

It's a knife or some sort of blade, because the cut starts to smart although I can barely feel whatever's inflicting the damage. It must be a very fine blade then.

A pair of fingers dig into my hand more, and the annoying thought comes to me that I'll have finger-shaped bruises all across my hand, another lovely injury blossoming on my body. Yay me.

"How did you get in here _spy_?"

I manage a scoff, although I regret using so much verve, it only makes the slice in my neck deepen.

"Geez... you think I'm a spy? I'm about as stealthy as an iron knuckle. Even though, I did manage to sneak past plenty of dense-as-heck guards..."

My hands fall to my sides, still throbbing from this guy's wicked grip, I mean holy Hylia... this guy could kill with just one handshake.

"Oh great it's you."

What a nice introduction. Well, at least this nameless and faceless guard knows who I am. I'll be spared another day. But knowing Dohean and the other crazy knights around here, I'll be killed for letting Zelda get captured or something like that. And I haven't even considered Malon yet.

I've got a whole world of hurt coming.

"Here c'mon, you should probably report to the general. Everyone had a strong feeling you died or something."

"Or got stabbed again." I mutter.

The only remaining ounce of my "fame" is based around my infamy in battle. It's pathetic how far I've fallen.

I hear him laugh, "Yeah, some of the soldiers were betting on what happened to you. I think that one Ed started it. Did you get stabbed?"

Even though I can feel a bit of anger flare in me at the thought that one of my only friends has started gambling centered around me, I'm relieved he made it. Ed was in bad shape when I had to leave the ranch, with all the severe burns, but he lived.

I don't respond to his question but both of us know the answer. It's almost tradition at this point.

The cavern is more crowded then I've ever seen it, with multiple sentries on guard and soldiers- Hylians and Zoras alike- mucking about.

I doubt all the Hylians are all in the main cavern, but the number of the ones I do spot is small. Too small. We lost too many. The air of sarcasm and snark fades away when I feel the weight of those dead suffocate all else within me. Some heroic sense still intact in my brain remorses hopelessly that somehow I could have done something to save at least a fraction of those lives lost. Maybe if I had disobeyed orders and helped to fend off the monsters at the ranch or rushed into battle... but no. I know that couldn't have happened.

I was told to protect the princess, and I failed even that.

We dodge the clusters of people and I follow my attacker, one of the higher ups that I don't know, up the spiral path to the throne room.

It doesn't pass my mind until we're nearly up the stairway that I should be dreading this meetup with my favorite person more than I already am. I failed an almost simple task compared to fighting in battle. All they wanted was for me to keep her safe. Now she's in the enemy's hands for Din's sake. I doubt he'll just kick me out altogether though, that'd be an easy way out. He already probably thinks of me as a deserter anyway. I've tried to escape and disobeyed his orders too many times to appear as a disciplined and loyal soldier. I'm an untrained nobody from a forest. The only reason I stayed other than Malon was my punishment of being stuck there.

The air's the same almost humid but still cool way it's always been, nice and refreshing compared to the mugginess of the trek coming out here.

There's a dim glow from the torches at the top of the stairs which reflect off the small layer of the water on the ground and the rock walls.

I can see the same Zoran diplomats from the consul, along with Ruto and the King. But I mainly focus on Dohean, who's turned around from the sound of our footsteps.

He's a lot more battered up than I've ever seen him. There's scars on his face and wrapped up injuries on his arms and legs. Worst of all, is a small bandaged bloodied stump of a finger and a bloodied scrap of cloth covering up one eye. And there's a big splotch of blood on his abdomen.

So he's lost a finger and an eye. Not even the most qualified- and arrogant- of the soldiers didn't get out unscathed.

"Where's the princess?"

There's no pleasantries, he's cutting straight to the point, as usual.

I have an involuntary nervous gulp, which makes another stream of blood slip down my neck, not to mention the cold sweat condensing on my palms.

I don't know what I should say. I can see his eyes narrow as he waits for a reply, and I know without a doubt he already has at least a few accurate guesses as to what happened to her.

"She's been taken." I can't get myself to speak up more. I'm surprised that I feel shame.

His eyes flash with disappointment and cold anger, but he doesn't seem surprised. Almost like he expected it. I don't blame him.

I can't meet his gaze, and I can feel my hands form fists, still damp from the river and sweat. The shame is fueling some sort of fierce determination to do at least one thing right. And fine... maybe I don't want Zelda to die or be tortured. It's a fate too cruel for anyone.

"I'm going after her."

"No. No you're not."

I manage a nod. I'm sore and tired and I don't know what I'm thinking. I guess I'm not. I'm the biggest disappointment this guy has ever seen and showing up alone and injured just makes my case worse.

I start to turn away. He knows I'm alive. He knows I failed. That's the only reason I came all the way up here. I barely notice the feeling of the Zora's eyes on me but Dohean's stare seems to bore into my very soul.

I get down the slick steps as fast as I can without being reckless and almost dying, trying to get a grip on things again.

What is there for me to do now? My one purpose, being the princess' problem is over and I was already disenchanted with a position in the army. Heck, I don't even have one anymore. But going back to the forest and waiting it out just doesn't feel right. Not only is the forest a burnt mess and Gerudo were there, but a part of me doesn't want to leave the rest of the Hylians to fight in this uphill battle.

I didn't want any obligations before, what's changed?

I know the answer to that, it hits me when I see two people I can call friends. She looks so happy and relieved to see me, and Ed has a mischievous grin on his face... the gambling bugger.

But my mind is back on the princess. Why? I try my best to smile at them, trying not to compare whatever Zelda and I have to my fling with Malon.

I'm doing this for her. She's still the only reason I'm staying here to help this underdog of a cause. The one person I didn't want anything to do with. Why does everything concerning the princess have to be so complicated?


	34. A gambler and a cheat

"Hey what's wrong? Still mad at me for placing bets?"

For a second I don't know how to respond. Since I've made it to the Domain, I've had that dead-end meeting with Dohean and figured out I have a gambling friend. But honestly I'm not surprised, I'm a dirty cheat after all. Malon's the most saintly out of us three it seems, and she's the one who gave me a nosebleed still half asleep. What a lovely bunch.

An awkward one too.

As much as I'm annoyed with Edmund, nothing beats the guilt that's gnawing up my insides. I don't what I can say. No matter what words I choose to use, it'll sound awful. There's nothing tactful about having to tell your girlfriend you might actually love the princess you used to want nothing to do with instead and that you only saw her as a sort of distraction. Yeah, I'll be dead whatever way you slice it. Malon's going to be furious. And it's totally warranted.

I manage a smirk at him, "I don't even know why I'm surprised,"

Might as well just lean into my slight annoyance at him. It's better than being angry at myself. I try to het worked up, but I'm more amused than anything. Of course he'd do that. I should've expected it. He is the same person who forced me into that death match after all.

Ed starts to laugh with a mischievous grin. I can see Malon's annoyed face out of my periphery but some paranoid part of me has the crazy notion that somehow if I lock eyes with her she'll be able to figure everything out. Would it be that easy? I don't know how well I can hide things or if everyone and their mom can see right through me.

I like to think I can be stoic when I want to, but everything about my guilt feels so blatantly obvious. This whole thing is stupid.

It was my fault too. I don't even know what my largest infraction is. If I hadn't ignored and denied my unswayed and stubborn-as-a-Goron love for the princess, then I never would have started this with Malon. But in Ikana I was still in a relationship and yet I still had kissed the princess anyway. We're still as tied together as ever. Fate- and the goddesses- have not been kind to me. Or any Hylian for that matter. Hylia's already clocked out centuries ago I guess and right now we could use as much as help as we can get.

"Well, I earned a small fortune from my exploits... I'll have you know. There were so many bets you'd died, but I didn't believe it. You'd pull through anything. Somehow."

My laugh's full of mirth, "Speak for yourself, Mr. Gibdo."

Ed glares daggers at me and I can hear Malon start to laugh too. He did look like one of those mummified Redeads though, after his little fiasco with the bonfire.

Most of his bandages are gone now, but the remnants of fire are still marked on his body, blotchy scars. Parts of his skin are new, a rosy color, surrounded by still agitated red flesh. It gets worse in some places too, like with singed bits of his hair and his eyebrows. But he's intact. He'll survive.

"Heh. Real funny. We've got a comedian here. Fan-freaking-tastic." His voice is as dry as a bone. There isn't even a touch of a sarcastic level of enthusiasm. It's a total deadpan.

There's no one else around to hear our banter, outside under the sun with our feet in the water. Other than Jabu-Jabu, we're the only ones out here.

I'd wanted a place to cool my head and think. Unfortunately, they followed me. But I don't mind. I need to get back to even the small amount of normal my life was before Termina happened. Because getting stabbed in the same place more than three times seems like the cruel work of fate at this point. Some sort of divine intervention.

I aim my foot towards him and kick up some water. The trajectory wasn't as much as I wanted but I still land some wet splotches on the lower part of his pants.

"You haven't told me yet, what happened back at the ranch?"

Malon starts to talk and I do my best to ignore the pit of guilt and dread building inside of me when I meet her blue eyes, "It was chaos. It's all a blur to me now, but I know they killed a lot of people. I just fought my way through the mess."

It was complete and utter chaos already when I pushed through the mess of bodies with the princess. We might've had a glimmer of a chance if we'd known in advance but this attack had taken us all by surprise. It's good strategy on their part, but it only brought more destruction upon us. Hope had already been slim pickings at best and now the chances were even fewer. We've been decimated, to say the least. From the get-go the Hylians have been grossly outnumbered and now even more so.

It's beyond me why his forces haven't just seized us and killed us already. It's well within their power to rid Hyrule of us now. But no, because toying with us is just so much fun. Genocides won't get them anywhere. Power means less than dirt when there's no one to command that power over.

If they're not killing us- cause let's be honest, we're practically at the Gerudo's mercy by now- then our lives under Ganondorf's no doubt tyrannical regime will be much worse than any death. Can't wait.

"And for future reference, a screaming Lizalfos in your face is not a good way to wake up." Ed grumbles, messing with one of his wraps.

"Ugh, please don't remind me." I groan, rolling my eyes, "Those psychotic lizards are absolutely bonkers. They look intimidating but when it comes down to it, they're jumpy and cowardly."

I get strange looks from both. Even though I've told them plenty of my struggles and also successes from the time no one remembers- with the few exceptions, of course- I guess the whole thing about me knowing something about combat is shocking. Or at least unnerving. But I'm practically a Lizalfos intellectual. I've spent my fair share fighting the buggers and like most of the other regular pests in Hyrule, they're annoying and tedious to deal with. But simple to defeat. Simple minded creatures don't have any sort of solid strategy, and even though I'm not the best, personally I just try and get an attack in when I see an opening and try to guard from their attacks, I still cut through those guys like butter.

"Oookay... so moving on, a forked tongue in the face is something I never want to experience again. Or the scaly face."

"You must've been so terrified," I snark back at him. He has no idea.

The worst were the wallmasters. They're absolute buggers. Navi's warning and that feeling of dread as I felt my shadow grow and distort into something else were the only signs that I had a overgrown and dismembered arm looming over my head. It was like a sword over my head, although all it did was take me back to the beginning of the dungeon. Still scared the holy Hylia out of me many times.

I see Ed's eyes narrow in annoyance and possibly anger but his voice trembles when he speaks, "Yes, I was frightened." Of course he's kidding. There's an edge to his voice and the whole thing is seeped in sarcasm.

"I still can't believe you slept through the screams you doof," There's a dull thud and Ed crashes against my side. She elbowed him. Classic.

I hear his almost amused snort, "Mal... have you, I dunno... _seen_ your boyfriend? The even bigger doof slept in almost everyday during his training and he was late for the siege."

Edmund's right. And that isn't even the half of it, if I'm being honest. I slept for a whole whopping total of seven years before.

I can barely focus on the truth in his statement though, because my brain is too preoccupied on that one word. Boyfriend. I know my cheeks must be on fire because I can feel the heat rushing up to my face. Hopefully it comes off as bashful rather than nervous.

Once she finds out I'll need to get the holy heck out of anywhere within at least the radius of Zora's Domain.

I know I'm being ridiculous though, but the guilt is burning through my system because what I did was wrong. Was I really in love with the princess all along? Was I just leading Malon on for some sort of distraction? I don't know. I don't want to believe that, but what if it's true?

What would she do really? I mean sure there's the very real possibility that I'll be turned into a bruised and bloody corpse or at least beaten to a pulp. Or would she understand? I don't know. All I know for certain is that I'm scared out of my mind to even bring it up to her. It's almost ironic in a pathetic and somewhat cruel way that I once wielded the Triforce of Courage.

I feel the sides of my face lift up into some sort of grin, "You think that's bad? I had to wait hours once just for farm girl here to wake up,"

"Shut it, fairy boy."

I stop. Even though last week and before I'd have kept aggravating her, I know now I've dealt enough to her as it is. I'll try to not push her buttons until she finds out or I tell her. The latter is the better option by far, but the idea of confrontation is less than appealing. I'd rather fight Gyorg again for Nayru's sake, but Malon deserves the truth. As horrible as it is. The princess would want that too I think, we both know she's already messed with my life enough, even if she didn't intend to.

Malon's expression shifts into surprise, wide eyes and the suspicious quirk of a brow. Great. She's on to me now.

I turn my eyes back towards the distance. The beginnings of the river stretch out before us, the sound of the flow overtaking everything else as our conversation dips into silence. We're at the area before the bridges, the patch of land that makes a slight incline down to the water's edge.

I can see the littlest hints of octorocks lurking in the water, purple splotches distorting themselves in the current. There's also the flash of red hair. That isn't Malon's, might I add. Wait.

I squint my eyes in an attempt to see better, but all I can really discern is what I already know. It's a Gerudo. And she's coming up the river. Wonderful. If we can book it to the Domain now that'd be great but she's probably already seen us by now. I mean, we do stick out like sore thumbs amidst the octorocks lounging around in the river.

I can feel my muscles start to tense in preparation for a fight, my fingers burrow into the dirt as I curl them into fists.

"Wait. Is that...?"

"Yes."

We're weaponless, vulnerable, staring death in the face and what have you. But I'll try and fight this one off. I didn't want to take another life but what's one more body on the pile? They've already massacred us, drove us into the dirt and pushed us to the ends of the earth.

All three of us just sit in wait, eyes trained on the woman who keeps coming closer and closer.

I make some observations as she comes nearer. She's injured, there's a limp and I can see the blood soaked into her clothes and how scratched up she is. There isn't even a weapon in her hands either, although there is a knife on her hip. If she has a scimitar as well, I don't know. But I wouldn't put it beyond them. They're sly and cunning, built to be perfect thieves.

And fine, she doesn't even look particularly evil. But this is no time to take chances.

I start to stand up, my feet still in the water, and I hear the others do the same. Maybe we can bust her up pretty bad and disarm her or something. But it's really stupid to bring fists to a knife fight. Even if we can pack a punch, a blade kills better than trying to bludgeon someone to death. We're all idiots.

Out of some sort of old habit I even get down into a fighting stance, getting my fists out in front of me, trying my best to look intimidating. Or at least competent.

This Gerudo must be stupid. From the look of it, she's alone and isn't even in decent shape to fight. What a suicide mission. Is this her trying to prove herself to the others? To Ganondorf even? Is this some type of vigilante trying to use the circumstances of war for her own benefits? But what would she get out of killing a couple people? No. Not a vigilante. One of Ganondorf's then.

The woman can definitely see us now, her face is blank, her yellowish eyes turned on us. They aren't like the others I've seen though. While her sisters' eyes were filled with malice and spirit and anger, hers appear almost worried, yet also subdued. There isn't any real fire in them. The other Gerudo had eyes made of burning buildings and disasters, but this one has eyes more akin to candlelight. There's the undertones of power and destruction but it's calm and stays on it's wick, silky and gentle. A nice change of pace from the usual warrior woman.

"I am not like my sisters," there isn't a sneer in her voice, not even a hint of one. "I know there isn't any reason for you three or any of the other Hylians to believe me, but please..." even in her injured and worn state I can see her stretched up hands clasp together. "I hold my allegiance to the exalted Nabooru, and I need to talk to Impa."

I just stare back at her desperate expression, the gears in my head working to figure out what I should say in return.

I'm surprised by how much I believe her. I know Nabooru hates the king. She hadn't fallen to his command- at least, when she wasn't being brainwashed- then and it's only fitting she wouldn't now. He hasn't changed a bit and neither has Nabooru.

But there's part of me that's still suspicious. If I let this one slip into our last line of defense I'll never hear the end of it from Dohean and everyone else. If they aren't killed that is. If _I'm_ not killed. My one slip-up to kill us all. I've messed up so many times in this war already, but this one exceeds even letting Zelda get captured.

What is there to do? Maybe she really is here to see Impa then. Well then, let's see.

"Alright, hope you don't mind getting your hands bound."


	35. Fratricide

_ ~ Nabooru ~ _

The morning air still holds onto the coolness of the night, which bites at my cheeks and nose as I feel the coarse rope burn against my hands.

This is a suicide mission but this may be the only chance we get.

The majority of our sisters, as far as I know, are leaving the Fortress. It's prime time to try and get at least the small amount of territory under our control.

There is a large amount of risk involved though, Gini didn't have much time to relay the specifics, and I didn't want her to be missing too long. She's holding her neck out enough for the three of us. And the whole of the Hylians too, I suppose.

I can understand what Gini wanted us to accomplish, even though she never said it outright. Not only would it give us along with the Hylians a strategical position of defense against any attacks, but it's the last place the Gerudos were ever expect Hylians to be.

Throughout this whole war, the Hylians have been solely defensive for the most part, and they have also avoided even the entrance to our valley. I doubt the thought that the Fortress could be breached and then help to protect the Hylians never would've even crossed any of my sisters' minds. The mere idea of it is so beyond what they'd even consider. The Gerudo know they're winning this war right now, and our tyrannical king's blinding want for power is a plight to my sisters. They're too busy trying to take the world I doubt they'd notice Hylians taking cover here, at least not at first.

The Hylians have made themselves scarce from what Gini's told me after the duo of attacks launched upon them, which only gave our sisters our king more land in their grasp. They're dying to wrap this all up and I know that for a fact. We Gerudo have no tolerance for unfinished business, after all.

Even though it's just dawn, I can already feel the sun's rays start to carve down into the canyon, lighting up the red rock with a golden glow. It's going to be a hot day.

There's beads of sweat on my forehead as I get up closer to the edge, feeling the burn in my muscles, but my mind's already focused on the insurmountable task to come. Taking the Fortress.

My back feels like it's being cooked alive by the sun when I finally reach the final stretch, the cliff side completely vertical. The rope is right up against the wall, so I'm essentially pressed up against the wall, which is warm to the touch. It's a good thing I'm right up against the rock. The heat seems to sear through my clothes, but I'm so close I can make out the sudden and drastic end of the seemingly endless upward grind, leading up towards the home of the Gerudo.

Even though the whole of the desert is hot, it's an arid heat. This climb isn't anything I haven't done before. I've done worse. The warmth of the rock wall and the sun are familiar. Except for the frequent sandstorms, the desert is always burning and dry as a bone. Just the way we Gerudo like it.

The rope seems to give a little when I finally get my hands onto the edge of the canyon wall and start to hoist myself up. I swing a leg up and then pull the other half of my body with it, feeling solid, rocky ground beneath me. It's dusty and craggy against my hands as I sit myself up, looking back down towards the river.

Ared and Fesire are on the stone platform near the waterfall, tiny from way up here. I can barely make out their terse nods, which I return with one of my own. The coast is clear. They can come up too.

———

While I wait for the others to make their way up, I relay what we're supposed to do.

There's bound to at least be a few Gerudos still here, but I'm hoping there aren't much. I doubt it'll be a large number, the Gerudo are already way ahead of the Hylians in their sheer numbers and in the land they hold. Will they have overlooked the security of our desert?

Ared's already up and Fesire is making her way up the rope. Despite the circumstances, I can see her grin as she comes closer. I can't believe she'd be excited about this, but she's one of the oddest Gerudo by far.

"So what entrance are we using to get in? I'd suggest a less patrolled one and then we can spread out from there." Ared's voice comes out of nowhere, one of the only sounds in the otherwise quiet morning.

It's a formidable plan. The last thing we want is to risk detection and then be over our heads fighting our sisters. Even a meager supply of sentries still patrolling the fortress will outnumber a threesome.

Now that I think about it, there'll be guards outside as well. How are we going to avoid them? I grit my teeth, trying to get my anger back under control, but I still bristle with irritation. This really is a fool's mission, but we've already made it this far. There will he no turning back.

There's a slight groan from the cliff edge as Fesire pulls herself up, working to get her legs up and onto the ledge. Unlike Ared and me, there's more red dust from the rocks all over her. Messy as usual.

She's in a heap upon the rock, heaving heavy breaths before launching upright, a determined and almost excited glint in her metallic eyes.

"I wonder who'll be there... I haven't dueled in awhile with anyone."

"For the love of Din... this isn't some friendly duel." Ared growls in annoyance and anger with a razor sharp voice and equally jagged eyes.

There's a nervous laugh.

"We don't have time for this you two, get your blades out and be ready," I cut in. I know I'm being snappy, but if there's any time to be stern, it's now. Bickering will get us nowhere but into trouble. Stealth and concentration is key.

I start off, hearing the scuffles as they hurry to stay on my tail. Our shadows cut hard in front of us as the sun rises above us, beating down on our backs.

Other than a few bushes and rocks, this place is clear of anything and everything. It's a desolate landscape, but it's perfect for our plucky gang of thieves. No one else would want to live in this sandy pit shut off from the rest of the world, but it suits us Gerudo just fine.

Although, I guess the desert is too small now for the unbridled ambitions of our King and the majority of my sisters, the fools who follow him blindly like a herd of sheep.

Even though we're only just starting on the narrow path carved in the cliffs towards our home, I have my knife out just in case.

I know we get closer when the steep set of stairs molds into view, carved into the side of the rock.

The sound of metal on metal comes out of nowhere behind me as my two companions pull out their own weapons. Good. We're going to need them. Our sisters that remain here are going to put up a fight.

I get up towards the first step, going my best to stay pressed up against the wall and I creep up a few steps, low to the ground.

I just need to get an idea of what we're working with, how many patrols and our next course of action. A hot spot inside the fortress is definitely the mess hall, so we'll avoid that for now. Most of the tunnels that carve into the mountain and under the archery range are less inhabited, but there's no way to get to them unless we enter the labyrinth from the front.

The camp seems almost barren, the wind cleaves across the land and everything is still. But then I see it.

One of my sisters.

The guards are few and far between but this place isn't deserted. They aren't total fools. I don't mind, I'd be suspicious if the fortress was empty.

The Gerudo are stationary. None are making rounds. That offers some relief. This overtaking of the fortress is still unknown, and we're unexpected.

I stay there, hunched on the steps with the stone digging into my legs as I survey the terrain.

The best place to creep into would be the most isolated entrance, but we'd have to climb up the wall. The opening below it will have to do, but there's still a guard to contend with.

I turn back around and start over to the gentle incline leading up to the fortress, towards the gate to the desert. Every sound we make with our steps drives me further up the edge of paranoia inside of me. Although I know it's completely irrational of me, they sound like explosions in my head. I can't start to crumble now, I'm supposed to be strong and a leader to the others. I need to keep a level head. For the others, and for my sanity too, I suppose.

It does cross my mind however, as we're nearing the Gerudo, still with a lax expression in her face as she leans against the wall, her spear up against her, that I'll have to kill my own. That sets another heavy weight on my heart. Not only have I put my life and the lives of three others on the line, especially Gini because of her role in the espionage, but I'm now directly poised against my own sisters. It's a struggle to keep breathing almost, my lungs flattened by the thought of it. My throat is dry and feels almost gritty with sand, but I can't shut down. I have to carry through with this, no matter what. This is no time to be a coward or to back away. It's now or never. I owe Gini that much, and more too. She's been teetering on the edge of discovery and therefore death since she volunteered herself to spy, practically a sacrifice. The worst part is that I let her go too, but somehow she's stayed alive. It was always bound to be a selfish decision, I sure as heck couldn't go, all the Gerudos at least have some knowledge of my disloyalty and disapproval to our King, even if it's just a rumor or passing remark. I'd be killed on sight. One of the three would've had to go, but I still feel awful about it. Was that really the only way to go about getting information and trying to fight back? I don't know, I'm scouring my head for another option, even though it's too late. I think I know deep down that this was the only way, the only thing that could be done.

I grit my teeth and try to keep up against the shadows, thankful that it's still early enough that there are some pockets of darkness to lurk in.

I'll need to get to her fast before she can fight back or call out for others.

I can feel Fesire and Ared at my back, along with almost an electric energy which pulses in all of our veins.

I sink down into a starting position, ready to dart out of the shadows and strike. There's a shuffle as the others follow suit, and then I give one quick nod and we're off.

I get tunnel vision and the only thing that really matters is getting to this Gerudo before it's too late. My peripheries are blurred from the speed and I can barely feel the impact as my feet slap against the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. The loudest sound is my heart, which is beating so loud there's no way the other Gerudo can't hear it, right? As I near my sister, time seems to slow down.

Her reaction is immediate, but so is my attack. I thrust it out towards her chest just as she begins to fumble for a hold on her spear.

The blade seems to slide in too easily, and I can feel the warm spray on my arms and torso.

My eyes lock with hers and I instantly regret it. I know her. I had known from the get go what taking the Fortress would entail, but this is the first time it really crosses my mind. I'm going to have to kill my own sisters. I can see her mouth begin to open with a few sounds of struggle but manage to get my free hand clamped over it before she can start to scream.

She's only a red, but our paths have still crossed. The memories come quick and messily, kicking up in my mind like another sandstorm. I remember her trial to become a red and beyond that too. Her future was bound to be an industrious one, she would have been one of the elite one day. Before that I remember her as well though, even as a purple.

She asked for stories, about the desert and our heritage, but also the world past these sandy dunes and cliffs. I didn't know much about the rest of Hyrule but my small collection of knowledge was plenty for her.

It's too late for it, but there's a pang inside of me. She could have been spared. There wasn't a hatred for Hyrule that jaded many of the other older Gerudo. I could have gotten to her before this.

Farlyn doesn't deserve this fate.

Her eyes are already becoming glassed over as the life drains out of her. Her abdomen is a bloody mess and my brain is disconnected and disjointed as I struggle to pull my blade out of her stomach. The look in her eyes is almost desperate and so forlorn. Guilt starts to take root inside of me, even as I'm fighting myself to stay hardened and unaffected.

"I'm sorry." It's a quick whisper, and along with it I can feel the sob rising in my throat, which I quickly do my best to subside. This isn't over yet. "I could have saved you,"

The shake of her head is loose and she already seems a million miles away.

"Help me," I turn my head slightly towards Fesire and Ared at my back, feeling Farlyn's body start to slump and become slack. She's fading fast.

Together we get her body inside and lay her down right by the entrance. We'll have to come back and deal with her body later. My nerves are fried already, and we've barely begun.

I get down on one knee and gently close her eyelids, her skin is icy against my fingers.

I linger there, on the floor, unable to shake how much the loss of this innocent Gerudo hurts. Those were my blades that did this to her, leaving that gaping hole in her midriff.

It's as if I'm immobilized, trapped on the ground next to the first kill of the day. There'll be more, and if it comes to it, all three of us need to be prepared to kill every one of our sisters still at the fortress.

The mood is dismal and Ared and even Fesire are silent, speechless.

I have to get up, not for me but for them and Gini. She found us an opportunity and I cannot and will not rest until I fulfill this one task, as small as it is. The guilt and grief can wait for later.

Stoicism is natural for me, and I force the pain I feel so stop, struggling to stand, looking anywhere but at that corpse.

I get a hold of my companions' eyes, setting my jaw, forming a fist in my free hand.

"Let's go, we don't have any time to lose."

My voice is low and there's a tyrant of emotions fighting the floodgates, but I keep my voice as steady and strong as I can muster.

Ared nods and sets off down the stone corridor, but Fesire lingers, there's a sadness in her eyes.

I know she wants to say something, it's only fitting really, she's one of the most talkative Gerudos I've ever met. But I shake my head. There isn't time.

I don't want to stay on this topic anymore. There'll be more deaths before this day is over.


	36. The only thing we can do

Dohean's absolutely livid but I know he's trying his best to keep it under wraps. It isn't working very well, not only does he look visibly annoyed but he's bristling with irritation. I can almost see the waves of hot anger rising above him.

I have a feeling he wants to yell at me right now but can't because there's others here.

I've been thrown back into the mix of war strategy, although without a princess' invitation this time. Bringing a Gerudo into the last hideout of the losing side of a war is reason enough.

I'm beginning to regret some of my more recent life choices.

I don't even trust the Gerudo, I'm as suspicious now as I was when I caught that flash of red hair. We don't know if she's lying about being one of Nabooru's subordinates, nor do we have anyone to vouch for her.

She's not a bad hostage though, I figured she'd put up a fight just like all the other Gerudos, but she let me bind up her wrists and then drag her up to the top of the Domain with no protest or incident. The fire that courses through her sisters' veins seems to have skipped her. It's there, but it's so subdued. This Gerudo submitted to my terms and hasn't made a fuss or tried to fight me. I have no doubt that any other Gerudo would've fought even without hands or weapons. Heck, I bet they'd all try to fight in a straitjacket. And that also goes for their pirate counterparts as well.

It must be the hair, Malon's one of the most feisty people I've met, only second to all the Gerudos. But, Zelda is plenty fierce when she wants to be- which is most of the time, and there isn't a lick of fire in that crazy princess' hair.

Candlelight is an accurate depiction of her eyes, she looks even more worried now.

And I'm at a standstill against myself, torn over whether I see her as a threat and that I've made probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life or that maybe she's being honest. Maybe she really is loyal to Nabooru, who is so against that power-hungry king of theirs that she decided to tromp out to the Spirit Temple alone to play the role of vigilante. That's some pretty strong hatred. The Desert Colossus is the farthest point from the rest of Hyrule, deep in the sandy and hot wasteland. There's sandstorms almost constantly and the temple is right in the middle of the mess.

The Gerudo is in a corner of the chamber, shouldered by two guards.

I'm having a stare down with all the Zoran diplomats and Dohean most of all. Impa's made an appearance too, apparently she'd been checking on the condition of Kakariko. Makes sense, the only think she cares more about than her beloved village is the princess. And of course, the Royal Family, Zelda's all that's left of the royal line though.

Unlike some of the others, she has yet to yell at me or scold me.

Maybe the Gerudo really does want to speak to Impa. I don't trust her, but the Sheikah seems barely concerned by the appearance of one of our redheaded friends. She isn't phased, not even a smidge.

Dohean's still fuming and his voice is the loudest over the clamor of other angry voices, I'm doing my best to tune him out. Not only do I already know the detrimental consequences of my mistake, but after seeing how calm Impa is about all this, I'm less convinced this Gerudo came all the way out here, alone, to kill us.

She may be a spy for them, espionage would be the only reason she's come alone, but we don't have any new and dandy tricks up our sleeves, we're just hiding. But it makes no sense. The arrival of any Gerudo would raise immediate red flags- in fact, it has. I think it'd be less obvious if she had "in a spy" written on her forehead.

And if this is some form of sneak attack, then she would have never come over to us and requested an audience with Impa. Real thieves slip in undetected, they're sneaky. The Gerudo have turned from your everyday crooks into ones who steal lives, murderers. All the more reason to keep on the down low. Sending only one would be a cruel fate, she'd never make it out alive.

That's why the realization that she told the truth starts to truly sink in. Now to shut Dohean up.

"Enough of this Corzan, none of us are in danger. This is one of Nabooru's." I'm thankful Impa's cut him off, he's already miffed enough at me, and she's much closer to his rank. I don't even have a _rank_ anymore.

Dohean stops dead in his tracks, the burning anger in his eyes starts to sputter out but his cheeks are still an inflamed red. I've never seen the guy so mad before, he tries to keep his cool most of the time but the anger has seeped out of him anyway, flooding out through the cracks in his brittle armor and into view. We're all breaking in this war.

Even though he looks ready to throw a retort back at Impa's face, he manages to hold his tongue.

"Does that mean I'm not in trouble?" I blurt out, the room awkwardly silent except for the sound of the water as it flows down into the pool below.

After all the other times I've been scolded or demoted or failed to protect one person have made Dohean so adamant about trying to catch every wrong I commit, it must also be my charming personality, but much to his chagrin, no one is doomed.

It takes nearly all of my willpower to not pull the smuggest smirk in my arsenal out right now. It's just satisfying, even one victory against my many fails and mistakes is better than none. The best part though has got to be his reaction. The fact that he's left dumbfounded, not only because Impa totally cut him off, but also that I wasn't a complete idiot to bring a Gerudo into our last hideout.

Sure, a Gerudo is still a Gerudo, but this one isn't going to kill us. If she's aligned and loyal to Nabooru like she claims, then there's nothing to fear. Hopefully.

"She found me during the scuffle at Kakariko wanting to talk." Impa says, not even bothering to answer my question. It doesn't matter. I already know what'd she'd say. Although, she might kill me later for getting Zelda captured. You never know.

I can see Impa's crimson gaze flicker over to the Gerudo, as the others do the same. She starts to back herself further against the wall, head down from prying eyes, but then there's a change. I can see her legs straighten and fists form as she gets her head level to the rest of us, face wrought in quiet concentration.

She doesn't say anything at first, but after she gets a nod of assent from Impa, she hesitates before beginning, "As I said, I hold my allegiance to the exalted Lady Nabooru of the Gerudo. I detest Ganondorf's greedy hunt for power and the destruction and death he has caused Hyrule.

"Only two of my other sisters follow her, which is hardly enough to make a dent against the rest of our people. I volunteered to espionage the other Gerudos at the fortress and relayed the information to Nabooru.

"Most of the Gerudo are leaving the desert to join our King in the castle and other conquered territories, leaving the fortress empty. Hopefully the three of them have already fortified a good portion of it."

I'm not surprised the Gerudo are coming into Hyrule proper, they've got most of territory, not to mention every territory inhabited by the Hylians under their belt.

"Why is clearing the fortress relevant? How would that benefit us?" asks one of the Zoras in an almost bored voice, his purple eyes are narrowed and yet glazed over at the same time, his mouth in a loose frown.

"It's fortified, it's the last place they'd ever think to find Hylians, and it's one of the last strongholds that isn't filled with Ganondorf's forces."

Another Zora looks ready to cut her off but the Gerudo continues, just as unfazed as Impa was.

"I'd send anyone unable to fight to the desert along with any others. As for the rest of you, you can decide what course of action you want to take."

Huh. I guess it does make sense, the Gerudo guards are almost as bad as the Hylian ones, I know without a doubt that they haven't even conceived the idea, even just for a laugh. It's ridiculous and ironic that hiding Hylians in the _Gerudo_ Desert is the best way to keep us under their noses. I guess they are so wrapped up in their new areas of control, not to mention becoming cocky and stupid with their victories. They've neglected their own home, since they never believed it could be breached. That'll cost them though. Their arrogance has blinded them.

With the injured and unfit for battle spirited away to somewhere safe, maybe all the remaining available soldiers can finally rest easy. Or at least easier. We really are in the endgame now.

Everyone's silent as her words seem to sink in, and I guess it's just force of habit, because instead of booking it out of that meeting, I can feel a spark ignite within me, curling my fingers into fists.

I could finally cut my ties with the soldiers and the war and the battles, run away to somewhere undisturbed and live my life in solitude. No disappointed and disgruntled generals no confusing and sometimes psychotic princesses or confusing feelings and backstories and my embarrassing set of injuries, to name a few.

Instead, the idiot I am decides instead to set his sights on whatever remains of the castle, already scheming on a way to get the princess out of there.

For half a second I think it's guilt. But it's not. Even though I do feel stupid for failing the one thing I was told to do, I'm not risking my life to impress Dohean.

No, just like that other time, it's for her. Why is it always for her? I know the answer to that one too. I do feel personally responsible for the princess' cruel fate, but there's no kidding myself into believing it's just remorse. I'd have gone after her regardless of whether I was the idiot who got her captured or not.

There's still not a word from anyone, but the fire inside of me is growing. It's stupid really, there's no way in Hyrule him or anyone else would allow me to proceed with my reckless plans.

Maybe back then I could have done it, but I seem to have forgotten not only the fact that I'm not even part of the war anymore, but that he'd run me through with one of his swords without stopping his evil laughter. Impulsive is an understatement. It's straight up death, no question about it, at least now. I've done it before. But I was a different person then.

"We need to end this now." I blurt out again, feeling everyone's eyes on me, glaring daggers at me.

Even though the Gerudo didn't say it outright, it's obvious what she wants our "course of action" to be. To make one final stand against the rest of her people and take back the castle. It's crazy. But what other choice do we really have? Hiding out either here or in the desert and wait for death?

They're going to find us eventually and overwhelm us. I already know where I stand, even as I try and convince myself to just slip away and let this land fall into oblivion. But no, I guess I'm too stubborn, I don't want to back out now.

I find the general's metallic eyes out of the Zoras, the anger removed from his face. The only expression I can distinctly make out is a grim determination, a sort of sober seriousness.

I'm almost taken aback, I thought he'd shoot down my words and throw some back at me. Is he actually considering it? There isn't anything else to do though, they've already taken most of the territories on the map and we're running out of options and time.

The thought of trying to take back a castle now overrun with all flavors of monsters and Gerudo, along with the lovely King himself, is some sorta of radical, delusional fantasy. It's come down to mere scraps of a chance. Hope is hanging on by a thread, but everyone seems to have accepted that it's the only thing to do.

I can see something in Dohean's eyes harden, a scowl on his face, "There isn't anything else to do but wait for them to come. Striking an offensive is our only chance." There's an almost resigned sigh and I can see the look of grim determination deepen, "We'll hold a strategy consul this evening."

Even though I was the one to consider our only option, one that Dohean actually agreed with, I know I won't be invited to this discussion. Not that I care.

I start to leave like everyone else but I'm jerked to a stop, someone's hand clamped over my wrist.

I'm about to let out an angry "what?" but bite my tongue when I see Impa's the one who stopped me in my tracks.

She isn't one for expression, usually with a very stoic face instead. Even so, I know she must be mad at me, because her eyes are narrowed more than usual, along with her scowl being more severe. What am I in trouble for now? Does she know that I let Zelda get captured?

Panic starts to ensue and I don't even know exactly what I'm afraid of. My mind's already in overdrive and I'm trying not to let my fear get onto my face.

"You're not going to play vigilante alone. You'll kill yourself." Her voice is quiet but it still manages to be the loudest thing I can hear, reverberating and bouncing around inside my skull.

So she knows what I'm planning? I guess it isn't too far fetched from what I've done before. Not any less reckless either, even more so now. At least I could fight then.

"It's my fault for what happened."

"I know. But going off alone to pick a fight with that king and his forces is no way to fix anything." She hisses at me, the irritation creeps into her voice, before her gaze starts to soften, "You've already hurt her enough."

The princess must've confided in Impa about how horrible I was to her. I'm about to retort that she's hurt me plenty too but manage to once again keep my mouth shut. Impa's right. Dying won't achieve anything, I'd be just another body, just another fatality. And if the princess really does love me, then it'd only hurt her more. She's already upset I haven't forgiven her, and I doubt she'll forgive herself if I lose my life. Heck, the crazy princess would probably blame herself.

I bite my lip, trying to consider what to say. Even though there's plenty of reason to what the Sheikah says, I'm still unswayed in my decision, as firm and unmoving as ever.

"I know. I don't want her to hold herself responsible." I try to pick the most careful words I can, make it look like I'm submitting to her wishes.

"But?"

"What?" I start to tug away from her, trying to get my hand out of her grasp. I thought my words dissuaded her enough.

"You never listen, do you?"

My head moves down by itself, my eyes dropping to my shoes and the stone steps. I can feel her hand release my arm, my wrist throbbing from how firmly she was holding on.

I walk away now, without saying anything, lost in my own decision. What am I doing?


	37. Noble but stupid

I don't know what went down at that meeting last night, but whatever was said, everyone seems collectively bent on getting the holy Hylia out of here.

Sleep had already been hard to come by, but it's near impossible on the rock hard floor. Even with a layer of blankets there was barely any comfort. Even though the Zoras don't sleep on boulders- made even more obvious by their uppity mannerisms, which they like to call elegance and class- with all of us here, they were bound to run out of suitable beds eventually. And boy... did they.

There's a lot more to Zora's Domain than I ever got to see, their caverns stretch deeper into the mountain side, even under their coveted fountain. It seems to get even danker and damper the further in you go, and I can't help feeling uneasy at the thought of being under that large pond of water, just waiting for the ceiling to collapse and crash down on us and swallow us all up. At least the Zoras could survive. Now that I think about it, Goron City poses a similar accident, except with lava and somehow even more hard rocks.

But the one that really tops it off in terms of nerve wracking and stupidly precarious is Stone Tower. Right side up, there's already the looming Moon to contend with, and thetower does go pretty high up, you'd be flattened to a bloody pulp if there's a misstep. It gets worse when the whole thing flips upside down. I remember how distorted the world became with the sky beneath my feet. One wrong move and it's over. Falling down into the oblivion. Forever. What a load of fun.

I snap out of my thoughts, thrown back into the thick of things. But the mere thought of the tons of water above me, not to mention the layers of rocks, is still is enough to keep my underlying panic around.

I'm in a narrow stone chamber that's defining characteristic other than dampness is the almost complete lack of light. Sure, there's the one flimsy torch near the entrance, but the light barely wobbles it's way down the wall and to the adjacent one.

It's still enough to see the movement around me though, all the disgruntled soldiers and me are stuck sleeping on the ground and packed together like a bottle of bugs. If only Dohean was here too and then it'd really be a party.

Hushed voices seem to rise up out of the sounds of folding up blankets and packing gear, buzzing around us. I can barely make out the somewhat familiar outlines and silhouettes of those around me, but no sign of Edmund. Either he's not even in here or he's already left. Not that it matters much, we're all leaving today.

I do my best to pull myself out of the groggy haze, forcing myself to stand up. My muscles are sore from a night on the floor, but I ignore the slight ache as I try to consolidate the gear I'd left in a half-hearted pile next to the crumpled blanket I had to use as a bed.

The weirdest realization I make while I haphazardly get my stuff into some sort of order is the fact that I slept in my boots. I don't know exactly why it bothers me the way it does, I guess I just see it as a sign. A sign for what's to come.

Back when I was dungeon delving on the daily, there wasn't time to find somewhere actually suitable for sleep, especially in Termina. Even if I did manage to get in a few hours of rest, it was always last minute and I'd just find the most undisturbed spot and call it a day. That only happened when I was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, so I didn't even bother to take my shield off my back or anything. At that point, having my shield and my sword's cross-guard dig into my neck seemed a fine price for some sleep.

Just the memory of it is enough to get some of my adrenaline pumping in me. I already knew what would happen but the memories of the pain and the exhaustion that I somehow pushed against have made it even heavier on my shoulders. This is so much more than just that now, survival means getting Hyrule back into the hands of its rightful ruler. All of the soldiers have to be willing to give their life to achieve that. An honorable and yet typical death. Hoping for causality is just a waste of time. There's no telling if all the soldiers- or as I like to call them, pawns- get wiped out or not. It's a possibility, as grim as it sounds.

Even with all the soldiers around me and our potential deaths hanging in the air, I don't feel like one. I was booted out of the military. I don't have any obligations to stay or even to help fight. I think Dohean would prefer that I ditch and start off in the opposite direction from the castle, or, better yet, leave Hyrule.

I'm back on my own again, doing the reckless and the stupid with the sort of brainless courage I've only seen in myself. But there is something noble about it, even when I'm scared out of my wits I still manage to keep staring death in the face and trying my absolute _darnedest_ to stay alive. I'll stay with the soldier till we make it to the castle, but then I'm going ahead by myself. I have my own priorities.

_"But going off alone to pick a fight with that king and his forces is no way to fix anything... you've already hurt her enough."_ Without warning, I hear her words echo in my head, putting a damper to my plans.

I don't know what to do. Trying to be a vigilante could very well end up with me six feet under.

But I won't run anymore. The last time I ran away only got me deeper into this mess in the first place. I'm going to end this with everyone else.

———

I regret saying that.

If I really am not running away from anything anymore, then there's still that one big gaping hole of a problem. Malon.

I can see her red hair before I even get fully into the main cavern of the Domain, there's a flash of the stuff through the large cluster of people pushing towards the exit.

I swallow in an attempt to loosen the knot in my throat, feeling my insides twist with nerves. My heart's hammering against my ribs as hard as it can from the feel. I'm pretty sure this is what the megaton hammer to the chest would feel like. Except the metal would probably be puréeing my insides and caving in my ribs. Fun.

I start to weave through the thick mass of people before I start to regret this even further. If I don't tell her and I end up dying, I bet Malon would find some way to resurrect me just so she could kill me herself.

I see Edmund's green eyes connect with mine, hoping the pure fear that's racing through me isn't as obvious on the outside as it is in my head. I really don't. I feel like some sort of prey, a rabbit or something, waiting for the predator to lash out and sink it's teeth into me.

"Hey Link!"

I hold back the urge to jump when Malon turns around, with narrowed eyes and an irritated smile.

"Were you sleeping in?" There's the unmistakable twinge of annoyance in her voice, coupled with dry surprise.

I get out a nervous breathy laugh, my eyes darting away from her face.

I can see concern blossom out of her expression. "What's wrong _fairy boy_? Lost your beauty sleep?" Even though she's got a snappy remark, I can hear her voice wobble a bit with uncertainty.

It takes more effort than I'd like to admit to get my mouth working. My brain's working overtime but all my words are scrambled, and I'm scrabbling for anything to say.

It's funny that I called myself noble and impulsively courageous. Because this feels like the definition of cowardice and indecisive.

"Hey Malon...? I need to talk to you." I get out, flicking my eyes to Ed, "Uh... just us two." Edmund's eyes narrow but he walks away just the same, but I can see his eyes still trained on the two of us, even from over in a corner of the gaping cavern.

Her flustered sigh pulls me back over to the very real and scary future I've set up for myself.

"I knew it. Something's wrong, isn't it?" Malon spits out, her eyes boring holes into mine. Under the angry pretenses in her voice, I can pick out the hurt there too. "You've been acting funny since you came back from the woods." She sighs again, "Just spill it, fairy boy."

"I-I'm sorry Malon, I-" I sputter out.

"I don't want an apology. For Din's sake... Link!" Her voice tears with rage, rising up even in our loud surrounds. "Tell me what's wrong or goddesses help me... I am getting to the bottom of this."

"Malon... I know this is going to sound horrible, really really bad..." I see one of her brows quirk up, and I try keep the words coming, "I just can't be with you anymore-"

"It's because of her." Malon cuts in again, all her fire extinguishes. "Or am I wrong, fairy boy?"

My throat starts to close up and I can't get anything out. Nothing I could say can make what I did right, or even justifiable. There is no right. Just like there was none when Zelda meddled with my life.

There's no one but the princess who could be the one Malon's referring to.

My guilt takes on a whole new weight, digging its claws into me. My lungs and heart feel like they've been crushed. I stand there like a dying fish, trying to apologize but they all fall flat on the floor between us, ignored by the both of us.

"I hope the Gerudo get you good." Malon storms away, and for a second I debate whether she actually said that or if it was just all in my head. But who am I kidding? She never bit back remarks like that before, and I know for a fact that if she's mad- no, _infuriated_ \- with me, then there's no way in Hylia's name she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to threaten me. And she means it this time.

I can't move and I can barely think, trying to process what happened. Could I have worded it better? She wanted me to spit it out, I wasn't thinking. I never think important things like this out. And it cost me this time. I didn't want her to flip out at me, but it was bound to be inevitable.

At least I won't have to see her for awhile. She's going to the fortress to help all the injured. Hopefully if we both make it through the war, we can somehow salvage our friendship, but that just seems like wishful thinking at this point. I'm the princess' problem now.

I break out of my stupor and try to push the bombardment of thoughts into the back of my mind. I set my jaw and focus all my attention on following the stream of people out of the Domain and into the day.

After I finish what I want, I can move on with my life. Malon can hate me forever. Zelda can be queen. I don't know.

The tunnel branches off from the rest of the cavern, narrowing dramatically which forces all of us to compress into a line of some sort.

I can see light start to break through the bodies in front of me, and the stone floor start to become slippery with water. And then there's the sound of water crashing, the waterfall.

I see the soldiers in front of me walk straight towards the waterfall, their backs dark against the stark brightness. Are they jumping?

My question is answered a second later when I watch the flow of water get disrupted as the soldier a few in front of me jumps through the waterfall and onto the platform on the other side.

Here's to not slipping.

I keep my steps tentative as I near the edge of the cliff, the water so close that I can feel the droplets that are flung at my face.

I don't stall too long, there isn't any time to wait, and besides, I've psyched myself out enough. I get lower to the ground and then push up and out, feeling the roar of the water, pummeling my head and shoulders as what seems like bucketfuls of water start to fill my boots and get in between my bare back and my shirt, making the cloth cling to my skin.

I can barely see, the water drenched my bangs and stuck them against my head, but I have the brain to hold out my arms.

I feel the falling sensation before I'm jerked to a stop. I managed to catch myself before I fell down into the river below. I'm drenched, and therefore slippery, but I start hauling myself up onto the grass as fast as I can. If I really am going to be self sufficient, then it'd be smart to not hold the others up. There's a jarring ache in my shoulders from catching myself on the ledge, the only tangible feeling when the rest of me is wet and dripping and a mess of emotions.

I get the mop that is my bangs out of my eyes and keep moving. Rather than taking the regular trail back to the field, everyone in front of me is jumping straight into the small pool of water in an alcove off the the side.

It's the way to the Lost Woods. I never thought of it as some large-scale method of transportation though, I thought I was the only one who had found any use of it. But at least it'll make our trail a little less inconspicuous.

Getting into the water is no problem, I'm already soaking wet. My heavy gear acts as a weight, sinking me to the bottom.

The opening ahead is dark and empty, and it suddenly becomes certain that the army won't be returning here to Zora's Domain. I already knew that, but it's really in motion now.

But I don't mind. There's no turning back. I'm not running anymore. I think confessing to Malon was harder than fighting Ganondorf. I didn't want to hurt her, but I want to kill that king and make sure he never comes back.

He doesn't deserve the world. And the only way to take back his power and his dominion over almost everything in sight, is to destroy him.


	38. Stir-crazy

I think we're all in danger of going stir-crazy waiting for the sun to go down.

I don't know how we'll even make it past the ranch undetected. Even in darkness I know this clump of people will still be an obvious menace. If we somehow manage to get to town without any incidents then they're just toying with us. Because there'd be no way they couldn't see us slowly making our way across the terrain.

I'm situated as far away from the others as I can, leaning against a tree. We're right on the fringe of the forest, barely in the field. When darkness begins to fall thick and fast, that's go time.

I don't know what type of crazy plan Dohean's hoping to pull, but the only way he'll be able to get them some sort of fighting chance would be to catch the Gerudo off guard. But I'm more concerned with my own plans.

After I ditch the others and slip off, stealth will become the key to my survival, at least until I have to clash with the demon king head-on. I'm no Sheikah, but I've infiltrated my fair share of castles and fortresses. I just can't afford to be overwhelmed. It's already one heck of a task within itself to go against one Gerudo, if I get swarmed, I'm dead. Or maybe they'll let him kill me, just for the satisfaction. That blasted creep.

And then there's Impa. She's already made her position on my flight to the castle very clear, but would she actually go so far as to stop me? I can't tell. She's so guarded it's hard to make heads or tails of anything she says or does. The only thing that really seems to make an impression in my head is how much the old Sheikah cares about the princess.

Even back then, all she'd really cared about was her safety. I had one through that haunted crypt, a monster hiding under the peaceful town she swore to protect, and for goddess' sake... she just wanted to keep the princess safe. Even though she seems like such an aloof and a no-nonsense person, she must have some semblance of a soft side. But only a shadow, she doesn't seem like the type. But as the hidden protectors of the royal family, loyalty runs deep. It's in her bloodline, after all.

But I said I wouldn't run away. I'm running straight to that castle and that false king. I know the consequences are dire- deadly even- but the idiot inside of me is as stubborn as a Goron, unable to budge. I've already made up my mind.

———

The last few smudges of sunset are fading into darkness, and the mood has spiked to an even more frantic and panicked energy.

We're all hungry and cold, but maybe it's for the best. I doubt I'd be able to keep anything down. I'm almost to the point of being sick with nerves, and it's getting harder with every passing second to try and keep my resolve.

I glance around at the soldiers around me, locking eyes with Edmund, which is a huge mistake. Rather than anxiety, there's a look of desperation on his face. His eyes narrow into slits, and guilt plunges it's blade deeper into me.

I can feel my mouth open, trying to get out some silent words, but I don't know where to start. I wonder what hurts the most, the fact that I was a dirty cheat, or that I ruined our hunky-dory friendship.

There's a sharp shout and I tear my eyes away from Ed. I bite my lip, trying to draw my mind away from Malon and Ed with the acute feeling of pain. The pain wins out in the end, and I can feel the metallic zing of blood filling my mouth.

_Great job_. I think as I start to run my tongue over the indents on my lip and gums. My whole bottom lip starts to throb, and the blood starts to gush more. Distractions might as well be my goddess darned speciality. Somehow they always seem to stab me in the back- no... they come right up and run me through the middle. Unflinching.

"Ranks can and should be broken. Half will come up right through the front gate to Castle Town, the rest will infiltrate the town without a direct confrontation. Once inside," I can see his dark silhouette sweep the crowd, making eye contact with as many soldiers as he can in the dying light, "capturing back the town will be the first priority. We'll need to branch out and secure as many streets as we can, pushing back their forces. Once we drive them out, the fight will be taken to the castle."

The panic in the air around us seems to thin out, replaced by desperation. In dire straits is when our spirits blaze the brightest. Everyone here is desperate to survive, morale is at it's peak.

I hear some dissent further up, rippling from around the general and coming back over towards my direction.

"They're going to join us once we start to take back the town." Is his answer.

They must have been asking about the Zoras. It does seem somewhat fishy that they aren't coming with us initially, but Dohean doesn't look one bit concerned. I can't help but feel suspicious however. I mean, this is too familiar to the crap the Gorons pulled on us.

Selling your soul and all your land to the demon king seems a better fate than trying to back the small and weak opposition. He'll steal all your power and take it for himself, but at least you won't be dead. I'd never join him though. He'd probably get me assassinated anyway, even if I did swear allegiance. The feeling is mutual.

I get up silently with the others, feeling my heart pound inside my chest, trying to get a grip on things.

My legs are wobbly from misuse and nerves, but I start to stumble into steady steps. Still, my legs feel disjointed and janky, slightly numb too, but as long as I'm covering ground it shouldn't matter.

The night air is cool and breezy, but there's still sweat perspiring on the back of my neck and my forehead.

The world is silent except for our boots on the earth, and I become hyper focused on keeping apace with the soldiers. My lip is sticky with blood, some sort of morbid precursor to what will unfold tonight.

From what I can make out from between soldiers, the dark walls surrounding town are drawing closer, destroyed. In the darkness, it takes on an eerie vibe, the last line of defense for a ghost of a town. The temple of time and the castle are dark blots against the deep blue sky.

The clump of soldiers begins to diverge, and I get pulled towards the side of the gate, following the flow of the others.

The silence is still deafening though. Have they been spotted? Metal sings against metal as those around me start to get a weapon out. Not me.

We compress into single file, crumpling ourselves against the wall. I can feel blood pumping in my ears, still pressing forward.

The somewhat icy water of the river catches me off guard, and I hold in a gasp, clenching my teeth against the cold. My boots have gone through too much, the leather's just about wrecked after multiple dunkings. A chill creeps up my back when I wade further in, soaking my pants and about half of my tunic.

It's a clumsy and slow feeling trying to shimmy through the water, the current is pulling on me and my legs are numb from the cold, already weighed down with my dense boots.

My clothes stick to my skin when I pull myself out of the water, adding at least ten pounds to carry. The glamorous life of a soldier.

I grit my teeth and keep on. The night darkness against the wall, the moon hidden from view. There's almost no chance we'll get found out now, even if Ganondorf has guards on top of the wall, they won't be able to see anything. It's close to pitch black, and at this point I'm relying more on feel than sight. I have a hand against the gritty stone, a few inches ahead of the rest of me.

Moments later, I just about lose my balance when my hand suddenly loses all support. The wall just ends. I barely catch myself on the edge of the stone, slamming my face and hands against it. While I doubt it'd be painful to the touch, I practically rammed right into it.

The pointed edge of wall cut into me, the most severe place on my forehead. I don't know if it was from the blow to my head or not, but a headache begins to pound against my skull and my vision twists and turns before my eyes.

I don't know why I didn't expect some sort of tunnel as our passage into the city. I wasn't thinking. What else would Dohean've been referring to? Did he plan for us to scale the wall or something? Sometimes I'm as dense as a brick.

I sidestep away from the wall, hugging the adjacent side as I begin the descent into complete darkness, following the sounds of footsteps on the stone.

It's a good thing I don't need my eyes, because I have to clamp my left one shut when blood starts trickling down my face. It's warm against my hand, pooling on my fingertips before sliding down my hand. It's so embarrassing. I haven't even seen any combat yet and I've already suffered an injury, one that's gushing out the stuff. It's what head injuries do. They're bloody.

The tunnel clips to the side almost instantly, booking a hard right. I reorient myself and then keep going.

A gash in my forehead is no way to be before planning to go off to the castle alone, but I can't just sew my skin back up. I guess some cloth could at least soak up the stuff.

I pry my hand off of my eye, which is sticky with blood. I'll have to risk getting blood in my eye for a second.

It's almost a good thing my tunic is so beat up, I fumble to find a section I can tear off, ending up with one near the hem of my shirt.

I get my right hand away from the wall and rip off a piece. It gives easily and then I'm wrapping the strip around my forehead. Strands of my bangs are still stuck to my face, but I just tie the cloth over it anyway. The blood's gone.

Before I can do something stupid like crash into a wall, I get a hand back on the wall.

Eventually I see a flickering light appearing out of a slit in the tunnel ahead, which widens into an opening. The stone room has a few torches mounted on the wall, which accounts for the warm glow I saw. As dim as the flames are, it's too bright after being in the dark for so long.

This must be some sort of stronghold or armor for the military, because the walls are decked with weapon racks and there's a map of not only the town but the castle too. I wouldn't be surprised if these tunnels linked up to all the others I've been in, not to mention the castle itself. As the protectors who hid in the shadows of the royal family, it's only fitting that they wouldn't not only created by used these tunnels during their heyday. But I bet this one within the walls are used a lot more often than most.

There's a narrow door a few steps away, already ajar. I make my way there while getting my sword and shield into my hands. I don't know what I'll be getting myself into.

I'm in somewhat of a back alleyway, devoid of any life or light. In front of me are some crumbling remains of brick walls. It isn't all quiet though, I can hear the sounds of conflict in the distance. I grip my sword tighter, setting my jaw before I start off towards the nearest street. Castle town was always somewhat hard to navigate for me, all the streets resembled one another, forming a labyrinth, but it's even more confusing in its destroyed state. The side streets are decked with rubble of all kinds, bricks, rotting wood, burnt crisps of what I hope is just furniture.

There are signs of life on the streets and in the destroyed husks of buildings though, I can see burnt out fires and bits of food. These monsters have been well and good in their trashed town.

The temple of time appears before me, which is a good sign, I'm heading in the right direction. This was always a quiet corner, and it seems relatively untouched by Ganondorf.

I don't really know what to make of this detail. Why is it still perfectly intact? There's got to be some ulterior motive, it'd be stupid to destroy everything else but leave one thing in pristine condition unless there was a reason. But I can't make real heads or tails with it yet, I'm sidetracked. So far I haven't seen a monster in sight, which means either they're planning on ambushing me right here and now or they're busy with our other forces. I'm hoping the latter.

I guess it's only fitting that I hear a grunt of surprise, turning just fast enough to see the moblin making a run for me, spear pointed straight at my chest. It takes my brain a few seconds to process but I manage to sidehop in the nick of time to avoid becoming a shish-kabob. It was a close call though. He's still barreling past me, the momentum already too much to stop. I get over to his back as fast as I can, hacking down most of his back, starting up by the shoulder. That stops him dead in his tracks. Before he can turn back towards me with that ridiculous spear, I get another hit, this time embedding my blade into his back. I can hear a faint pop as his spinal cord severs, and then he goes still and falls to the ground.

The exertion's got me bleeding again, I swear to Farore... the one on my forehead was almost clotted... whatever. One moblin is nothing. A Gerudo is a lot harder, but it's a good thing I haven't gotten in too far over my head. It's about to.

I get further away from the moblin's body, which is already starting to stink. I can see fires in the distance, back towards the front of the town. The flames are belching big clouds of smoke into the sky, blotting out stars. There's yells and screams and hollers from that direction. Metal sings, ringing out all the way to the Temple of Time. Even from here, the amount of chaos seems astronomical.

Further down the dark and silent path, the castle looms ahead, still in a very pathetic state of ruin.

_I'm gonna kick your butt Ganondorf._

I've made literally _one_ step- a freaking _step_ \- in the direction of the castle when I feel a presence of someone over my shoulder. I get a better grip on my gear but I'm not even nervous. I know who it is.

"I'm going. You can't stop me." I growl, thankful for the darkness so she can't see the stupid pout on my face.

There's a sigh.

"There's no stopping you, is there? You won't even listen to reason?"

Impa's desperate at this point. But I'm not budging.

"Nope. I've made my choice. You can think what you want."

The night air sucks up our conversation, and the only sound is that of the far off battle, I wonder if she'll say anything at all, or slide back into the darkness as quiet as she came.

"I know she still believes in you..." there's another sigh... lovely, "at least don't go that way, _hero_... that's a sure fire way to get killed.

"Listen, I know a way. They'll never see you coming. There's no time to lose, hopefully that king is distracted with the battle at hand... so you can do what you need to do."

I turn around, her red eyes still gleam, even in darkness. The solemnity in those eyes only makes the weight on my shoulders seem to get heavier. There's a lot riding on my infiltration.

Impa starts off, and I can barely keep up. I'm way younger than her and yet her level of agility is something unattainable- or even unimaginable for me, but somehow I keep apace. She takes me back over to the temple before going over to one of it's side patios with the fountains. It's still somewhat pleasant, well... if you can ignore the battlecries and screams of bloody murder. To the far left, against wall of earth, are some scraggly trees. They look so brittle, thin like toothpicks. Impa darts between the trees and gets to one odd patch. It's some sort of small pathetic bush. Compared to the flowers that otherwise still dot the place, it's hideous.

She gets down low towards the plant and gestures me to do the same. I drop to one knee.

"There isn't time to give you a direct path, but it's pretty straight forward. You'll find him."

Impa starts messing with the dirt around the bush, and I can see a square pattern practically carved into the soil. I see her fingers get under it and start to pry the ground up. It's some sort of trapdoor, and whatever sort of crawlspace or tunnel that is below is another one of those pitch black tunnels. It may just be me, but holy Hylia... the Sheikah sure do love darkness. Geez.

I tried to prevent it, but I've still got my eyes bugging out of my head. I've been to the good ole' Temple of Time more times than I'd care to know, and yet I never would have guessed there was a tunnel running under the place.

I get my eyes away from the gaping home, seeing her give one nod of assent. What does that mean? Is it good luck? Is she proud of _me_? I've never thought of this woman of being proud of me, maybe I'm just getting oddly sentimental and delusional.

Welp. Here goes.

I get my legs in first before just killing the suspense and scooting myself to the edge of grass. This is it.

I drop down, and darkness blooms all around, consuming me.


	39. A labyrinth of remains

The feeling of unease was dormant down in the tunnels, but it was unearthed when I found myself inside the castle.

I must be inside one of the walls now, since there's stone on either side of me. The tunnel itself was straightforward, although there were a few places where openings branched off into the gloom.

There's more unsettling things than a network of tunnels over all of hyrule though, and yet it's all connected to the Sheikah. The well is one of the most unholy places I've ever been, and then of course there's the Shadow Temple, chock full of torture devices. Both of those places reek of death.

A narrow staircase is behind me, leading from below ground to within the walls. Should I go up the stairs to past it? I don't know. What matters most is getting inside, and then I'll work it out from there.

I have no guesses of what the interior of this place even looks like, except for the throne room. I'm thinking that's my best bet. A demon king does need a throne after all.

Instead of trying to find an opening into the castle on the ground floor however, I end up climbing the staircase. Everything is the same pitch black shade, with just the barest outlines of the walls and the steps, but I manage to keep my footing.

At the top of the stairwell is another seemingly endless corridor, dark and eerie. Nothing. My spirits sink even lower into the murk inside of me, only making me more acutely aware of the pain.

This can't be it though, right? Impa is many things, serious, blunt, somewhat unfriendly, but she wouldn't have let me come here if it was a lost cause.

Still by the stairs, I give the walls another look. It's hard to see anything, much less minute details, but I can make out a thin outline of a rectangle, the edges a dim glow. I take a step closer, realizing that this is a door, where to, I don't know. But it'll be a heck of a lot easier navigating the castle inside of the castle.

I stare at it for a minute, toying with how to open it. There's no hinges to he found, and the space between the wall and the door is too small for even my pinky finger to wedge into.

I get my hands onto the stone and try to push it forward. It doesn't budge. There's no use trying to pull it either. But I keep fiddling with it, maybe if I move it a certain way or something so I can get inside. There's a click and the door slides into the wall, opening up into a dimly lit room.

I shut the door behind me, which snaps back into place, looking like the rest of the wall except for the cracks.

Calling this room a mess is an understatement. It's been through fire and back, still in a sad state of disrepair.

Where a large window must've been is now is a large hole with some fragments of glass still hanging on, letting in the night air. Bits and pieces of shattered glass lie in a dangerously sharp pile around the gaping hole.

There's one torch lit on the wall, wavering slightly from the wind, the silky flame wrapping around itself and rising upwards, a small trail of smoke floating to the ceiling.

Other than that, everything is in disarray. This must have been some sort of drawing room, the plush chairs are turned over. One has a leg missing, the severed part splintered. And for the love of Nayru... there's red splotches all over. The rug has the worst one, noticeable because of the light blue and cream tones the rest of the rug is. One ugly red blot, tainting everything and everyone.

I'm just glad there aren't any bodies.

Even with all the horrible things Ganondorf has done and will do, it's somewhat nice to know that he doesn't leave corpses all over his new pad. Still, I bet he'll display mine. I'd make a good trophy. He's absolutely disgusting, the bugger.

One of the wooden doors is ajar, and I pad over to it, avoiding the splotches of blood and rubble. Out stretches a hallway, completely devoid of any life.

It's so odd. I had thought for sure this place would be swarming with his followers, but so far I haven't even seen a trace. Paranoia starts to form inside of me, but I try to shove it aside. This isn't the time to start getting jumpy. I grit my teeth and keep walking.

My footsteps sound too loud on the stone floor, the only noise in the corridor. The click of my boots follows me, reverberating off the walls.

I keep feeling like someone is going to jump out at me, phasing out of the walls. My guard is up, ready to fend off an attack. I start to slow down, quieting my breaths and my footsteps. If I'm too goddess darn loud it not only gives away my presence here but makes me oblivious to attackers. The Gerudo are cunning and sly, there could be one behind me ready to gut me with a knife for Farore's sake.

The silence pounds in my ears, and every clink of my gear only winds me up more. My muscles are taut, and even though it's drafty in this castle, beads of sweat are forming on my forehead.

Even though I feel like the only soul here, I can't get myself to rest easy. As much as I want to believe it's abandoned, I have a bad feeling this is just some sort of sick joke. My stomach is twisting into knots, choking itself and making a wave of nausea rise within me. It's nerves.

This isn't new, but back then there was a drive, I had a fire. I don't know what I'm looking for now. Honor? Revenge? Death?

I've forgotten all about how the world felt on my shoulders, a burden that I've had to bear. It was a huge responsibility, but I had done it, even as a kid. Termina's plight felt as enormous and heavy as the moon that threatened their very existence. I gritted my teeth and I pulled through.

That's heroism.

I was terrified out of my mind half the time, traumatized somewhat too. But what is this really? An impulsive flight to the castle, not for everyone's sake but for mine. Am I doing it in spite of all those people? The ones that drove me into the dirt? I don't know.

Maybe it's because this is the easy way out. I'd rather have a showdown with the demon king than be in that bloody war. There must already be so many bodies in the streets already, a town painted red. I can almost smell the blood.

In my absentminded state, I end up at a staircase. The handlebar is on the verge of falling over into the pieces and chunks of broken wood. One misstep and you're royally screwed. If you manage to avoid the holes- and therefore breaking an ankle- there's still practically a bed of splinters to contend with.

I keep my steps far away from the holes and any weak spots in the wood. They look ready to tear apart at any second, turning into jagged thorns.

Okay. The throne room. My sense of direction is gone, so all I can do is guess that I make the right turns and somehow end up where I want to be. Great.

The courtyard is near the rear of the castle, snaking its way deeper towards the middle. It must be a mess of weeds now, the fountains smashed to bits and left there, ruins to be consumed by the earth.

I guess I'll have to try my luck.

———

My luck however, seems to have completely run out. The goddesses love to watch me struggle. Good for them.

The only emotion I can truly feel is anger, pent up rage. I'm so fed up, and yet all my frustrated energy has nowhere to go. Nothing to do but drive me slowly insane.

Somehow I have yet to spot one single Gerudo. Even the monsters seem to have all but disappeared. He's definitely toying with me.

All the hallways are practically identical, weaving themselves into a disorienting tangle.

I'm heading down one now, another one heaped with rubble. There's a window near the end of the corridor, looking out into one of the only parts of this place I can recognize. Is this even real? I wouldn't be surprised at this point if there were two identical courtyards. It just seems like the sort of horrible things the builders of this castle would come up with.

I get up closer to the glass, so close my nose is scrunched up against it, which is cool to the touch. I narrow my eyes, unable to believe that this is the courtyard. The one where I met the princess and left her. Where the naïve little girl gave me the weight of the world to bear, even though I was so young. We were both so young. She didn't know the consequences. Why hadn't she known?

It's become a scraggly patch of land, broken and dreary. The once nice bed of flowers is home to weeds. No longer the slice of serenity in this stone fortress of a building, just another husk. I'm surprised by how somber I become. I had thought of this place with resentment for so long. But like with Zelda, it must've just been for defensive purposes.

The throne room is close then. My anxiety reaches the peak, and then my body goes numb to the trembles that are wracking my body. I can feel my teeth chatter against themselves and do my best to clamp my jaw down. I'm terrified.

I try to take a deep breath or two, but my body seems only capable of gulping in air, desperate and ravenous. All that does for me is make me lightheaded.

I'm dizzy and sick with nerves but I've made it. I'm going through with this.

I'm screaming in my head to keep moving forward, even though all I want to do is backpedal in the opposite direction. My heart is already beating violently in my chest, almost to the point of bruising my ribs from the intensity.

The doors even look foreboding. They're a deep brown wood, thick and sturdy, reaching up the wall.

I get right up to it and twist the knob, pushing the door open. It takes even more effort than I'd guessed, more akin to those solid stone blocks in the temples than a door.

I can see the familiar blue carpet lined with gold, stretching across the narrow room and to a throne at the other end. One that's empty.

I just stand in the doorway for a moment, dumbfounded, eyes fixated on the chair. I feel so slow, I still haven't wrapped my head around it yet.

There's a slam that pulls me back into paranoid attention, but by then it's far too late. My arms are snapped behind my back without a hitch, and I'm disarmed. My hands had been holding onto my sword and shield so tightly, my hands had cramped, and yet my grasp had still not been strong enough.

Last but not least is the most pathetic part, a knife at my throat. I can feel the slight pressure as the blade starts to bite into my skin, and it stings.

"Put up a fight, I dare you..." that voice definitely belongs to a Gerudo. It has this infuriating edge to it, taunting me to try and break free. She even presses the knife in a hair deeper for good measure, just to make me squirm more. It's effective, the thought of snarking off doesn't even cross my mind. This woman can and will slit my throat with no hesitation if I decide to be uncooperative.

I can see more Gerudo appearing from the shadows of the room, forming a barrier around me as I'm roughly manhandled, some sort of rope is wrapped around my wrists.

It feels so obvious, this trap, but I still fell for it. Again, he had caught me off guard. He'd been ready. And waiting.

I'm dragged out of the room and then lose track of where I am, the walls melding into one. All I'm aware of is the rope rubbing on my bare skin, turning it raw, and the knife still right at my windpipe. It hurts to breathe, I have to keep them as shallow as possible. I'm scared to try anything more.

Everything seems to have played right into that dirty thief's hands again.

———

I'm jerked to a halt, jolted by the startlingly different surroundings.

The room is white, long and narrow. There's a pang in my chest. I know exactly where I am. How did it take me so long to fit the pieces together?

The knife is still against my throat, and I can see other Gerudos around, their metallic eyes needling mine.

I feel slow and sore, trying to clear my head, which seems like an insurmountable task.

"Hero of Time..." the voice booms out of nowhere, and it's as if something has clicked in my mind. My blood's already starting to boil.

I grit my teeth. There's a feral beast inside of me, reawakened, ready to pounce. I resist the urge to growl out his name between my teeth. One word and it's a slit throat.

He seems so smug with himself, a gleam in his amber eyes. Nothing's changed about him from what I remember. Just as arrogant, just as powerful, just as intimidating. And I can see it in his eyes, that greed, he has the world, and yet he still wants more. Unbelievable.

I must've shown too much emotion on my face, because his grin becomes even more sadistic.

"Even if they belong to us three no more, I can almost feel the pieces resonating again, wanting to become one." His look is sinister, and one word he said starts to unravel in my head.

Three.

Three of us. Power. Wisdom. Courage.

I tear my eyes away from Ganondorf, looking for her, my heart leaps to my throat.

She's on my side of the room, and although she's still the same, she looks so different. _He_ did this, didn't he?

How did the princess get so weak in such little time? She looks so ghastly and pale, like she might already be a ghost. Bruises are all over her, and so is blood. But the worst part is her face. She looks absolutely crushed, even more so when I didn't forgive her.

Her eyes bore holes into mine, desperate. They're like the broken shards of glass I saw earlier, nothing but the remains of something. Another husk.

The beast is there again, fighting to get out of me. It's such a feral and animalistic urge, to kill and to protect.

I'm raw, my emotions have mixed together and an angry sob is rising in my throat, one I'm trying to push down. I can't tell if the tears in my eyes are from sadness or rage.

I will kill him.


	40. We’ve done this before

I can feel traces of what he mentioned too, a resonance between the three of us, still here even with the pieces gone.

We're tied together, bound to the same fate, even now.

I am well aware that she can handle herself, but I feel a few years younger, the rage boiling in me just like it did when I saw his sly grin and that crystal, her prison.

I can't get past how mangled and skeletal Zelda has become. She looks horrible. What kind of torture did she have to endure? The angry marks on her skin seem like the embodiment of rage. She must've stoked the fire, incited more wrath. The princess must've given them the heck of a time, she can be so stubborn when she wants to be.

I bite back the remarks I'm dying to use, I'm in no position to be back talking to him, I'm about as vulnerable as you can be. I've gotta stay on my toes, walking on eggshells.

My teeth dig into my bottom lip from habit, and I'm seeing red as I turn my gaze back to the stupid fool of a man. If he keeps this greed and power lust up, then what world will be left for him to rule over? What people? His own want for power is the one thing that will screw him over.

Our eyes clash, narrow and sharp, I can honestly say I hate this man with every ounce of my being. I have no sympathy for him. Skullkid was lonely, his friends had left and that blasted mask had tainted him. There's still traces of humanity, I can understand. But Ganondorf has none of that. He's tried this tactic before and he'll never stop. His anger is so empty, but vast, just like the desert he calls home.

I see him nod to the Gerudo on either side of me, and I'm jerked forward again, yelping as the blade digs a bit deeper into my neck. Pathetic. The other Link would've gritted his teeth.

The raised platform in the center of the room hits me right in the shin, but there's no time to recover or regain my footing, because I never had any in the first place.

The alter that had once housed the spiritual stones is getting closer, and he's on the platform above it, glowering at me as I struggle to not fall but also keep my neck as far away from the every threatening knife as much as possible. It's hard when balance is some just out of reach.

"You can either cooperate or they'll kill the princess. Understand?"

That hits me hard. It's not the fact that he can and will kill her, but it's that he's so willing to dispose of her. Last time all three of us were together, there were never death threats made. Is there no use for Zelda anymore.

I stay silent, still glaring at Ganondorf. I'm trapped against a wall, he's got me pinned. I'll have to do whatever he says. Zelda's life- and probably mine too, now that I'm thinking about it- is riding on my compliance. And I hate it. I hate how I'm completely at his mercy. Under his control. But I won't let him be the reason I die.

It's the ocarina... isn't it? A wild guess, I know, but the guy has such a one track mind I wouldn't be surprised. That's why he took Zelda, she knows the secrets of the Sacred Realm, she knows the song that opens the door. And to boot, she just so happens to have been the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom once. Oh, and the last ruler. It'd make sense he sent a small army of Gerudo after her. They need her. Not anymore though, I'm be new it-guy. Yay.

"I know you have it."

The iron grip on my wrists is gone, and my arms fall limply to my sides. They feels too light, almost numb. The pressure had faded into nothing but a dull ache.

The feeling in my hands throws me off a bit, but I get my hands to the pouch on my waist, fumbling the cinch open. There's nothing I can do but pull the goddess darned instrument out.

It's slippery in my hands, just like that day so long ago, the one that landed me down this rabbit hole. Back then, all I had felt was resentment. Resentment for what she had done, and now all I can think about is my anger. Rage and fear. What if I can't stop him? I'm not a hero anymore... deluding myself helps nothing.

I hold the ocarina to my chest, watching his eyes light up at the sight of the blue instrument. This must give him so much pleasure.

The king nods to someone behind me, and I'm taken aback by the sight of them. The stones.

All three, gleaming in the pure white light that forever lingers here. The Gerudo carries them up towards the altar, and they start to hover out of her hands, spinning slowly as they fit into the three spaces.

Darunia must've handed his over. Those Gerudo Mido saw by the Deku Tree must've taken the Kokiri's Emerald by force, burning the woods as a punishment for hesitating. But those are expected, they'd gotten what they wanted from the Kokiris and the Gorons.

But it's the Zora's Sapphire that sends me for a loop. How did Ganondorf even get his slimy hands on it? Zora's Domain seemed to be the last untouched haven in Hyrule, and yet there is it, their engagement ring, the three sapphires glowing a dark electric blue in the light.

Did they betray us too? The icy blade of betrayal comes back to bite me, and I know I should've expected this from the start. We Hylians have nothing to give, all we've done is take. It's no wonder they went to Ganondorf. He can offer them so much more than we can right now. Giving over their spiritual stone, no matter how important to them, seems a better deal for survival and victory.

I just can't believed they'd stoop so low. Dohean seemed to trust the King, Ruto, and the diplomats, but he might've been played for a fool, just as we all were. The Zora are as arrogant as the moblins are stupid, why would they join him? The Zoras aren't on good terms with the Gerudo.

The Gerudos has tense relations with everyone, and when those wore thin, the war broke out.

The only step left to open the Door of Time is the song that still rings in my head sometimes. In Termina, that song soon became ingrained into my brain, and it had already held importance to me.

Zelda has given the ocarina and the song to me when I left for that place, something she'd said to hold in my heart once. And it is still inside of me, even when I began to resent the ocarina and everything to do with it.

I feel the blade press harder against the vulnerable skin on my neck, jerking me to attention. I fit the ocarina to my lips, fingers scrambling to the proper position. I've had it in my possession for far too long, and yet it hasn't been played in years.

The notes come out shaky at first, clumsy and slightly off key, but it's voice begins to warm up as I start to remember the feel of the ocarina.

The song of time echoes through the room, ringing in my ears. The notes hover in the air too long though, the echoes too clear to be because of the room's acoustics.

The song continues on from where I stopped, and the carving of the Triforce on the wall over the door starts to glow, sending out blinding rays of pure golden light.

Still blinking away the blue after images of the Triforce, there's a click and then the Door of Time opens, sliding into the stone walls.

It's just as I remember it, frozen in time. Even at night, there's still a silver beam of moonlight coming down towards the sword, bathing the pure silver blade in even more light.

The Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane and what have you... I can't believe I've missed it. For Nayru's sake... it's a _sword_.

But it's not just a weapon, it's the last safeguard between our world and the Sacred Realm.

Zelda has been so naïve, we both had been, our efforts had handed the Triforce right over to Ganondorf, and it was about to happen again.

"Go on, _Hero of Time_ , this isn't anything new," he sneers, and I can sense he's holding back some sort of evil cackle. My irritation spikes.

I don't know what to do, could I even make a break for it now? The Gerudo who's had me at knife point this whole time is finally pulling away her blade, where the gash continues to bleed profusely, warm blood slipping down towards my chest.

I keep my breaths shallow, afraid I might end up coughing up blood or something pathetic like that.

I glance over in Zelda's direction, she's to the side, her face frozen in terror. She knows what's coming too.

It seems like a trick of the light, but the princess gives a slight shake of her head, her eyes desperate but the rest is set in determination.

Does she mean it?

But then Impa probably would kill me if I ended up failing to keep the princess alive a second time. If anyone is getting in trouble from back talking, it has got to be me. I'm not letting that princess get more beat up for Din's sake!

Even though I'm fired up, I manage a somewhat gentle nod, giving her a smug grin before pulling my eyes back to the king of thieves.

"You're right, we've all done this before"

I wonder if the Gerudo will still follow me like a shadow, but no one follows me into the sword chamber, not even Ganondorf, which surprised me.

The corners of the room were draped in shadow, and my legs turn to jelly as I worked my way up the steps towards the pedestal.

Blood pounds once again in my ears, and I feel so tense yet when I manage to get my hands on the hilt, I realize how much my fingers are trembling. It's almost to the point of being spastic. Is this what terror feels like?

The crossguard is cool to the touch, and I get as good of a grip on it as I can, although the clammy quality of my palms is making my handheld slippery at best.

Alright. There's no time to waste. Ganondorf is probably already miffed I took as long as I did.

I intertwine my fingers for a fourth time, trying to jerk the sword out of the pedestal.

For a second, there's no give, it's stuck fast. My heartbeat falters, and I'm holding my breath, trying to find a scenario for this being some sick joke. I've still got it in me... don't I?

I had heard Zelda say to Dohean before that she still knew the hero was inside me, waiting to wake up. Does she still believe that now? Her life is riding on me to perform, to be the hero. Is this just another nail on my coffin?

I struggle with it a few more moments, feeling my fingers start to slip off, slick with sweat. I grit my teeth though and keep at it, unable to believe this'll be how it ends.

Why do I care though? All I ever wanted to be after Termina was anything but a hero... that life had left me with so much baggage and so many regrets, but I must've absentmindedly accepted it as who I am- who I had been.

Before the panic can completely set in, I can hear a small click, and then the blade slides out like butter.

Is it still in there after all? Had she seen it all along? I don't know what to make of it... last time the thing had come out immediately. Is it a testament to how unheroic I'd become? Unable to pull the blade I'd been able to do as a ten year old? The goddesses really do hate me... I just keep finding proof to back it up.

Even with my back turn to him, I can almost see his grin. My eyes are transfixed on the master sword though, watching the yellow gemstone as the blade and the slot start to glow, pulsing the same electric blue. Tendrils of the stuff start to rise up, wrapping around me.

Do I have to wait seven years again? But how would that even work? I'm older than I was as the Hero of Time... and I know from experience that I don't have the time to wait. Hyrule doesn't have time either. This place could very well be nothing but a burnt crisp in seven years. For a second, it seems to be my sorry fate, but the light fades away, still leaving the blade with a blueish aura, lighting up a small radius around it.

He must already be there then, trying a second time to claim what he believes is his. When will he learn?

Soon he'll be back, probably to kill Zelda and I to get the last two pieces, which he'd planned to do at that time before. His castle was a lot swankier though. He may have destroyed the castle, but he built up around it, complete with a lovely staircase and an organ. It was a nice touch, all that class seems to have gone out the window now, totally off the deep end. There'll be no welcoming organ solos tonight.

I hear some footsteps on the tile behind me, and turn fast enough to fend off the flurry of blades from two Gerudos. The attacks ring off my shield, and I do my best to keep myself guarded. It's hard though, one of them could easily get around to my backside and then could pincer attack me.

The sword chamber is too small, and with all the edges in the room, too easy to get cornered into one of them. I need somewhere I can move around, clear out. And besides, their King could be back any second now.

I brace my right arm against the force of their hits and barely make it past them, ramming into them with my shield before making a break for it, back into the main room of the temple.

Now that I'm armed, I'm the target of about ten Gerudos, a true herd of some of the feistiest people around. Lovely. And soon they'll have their leader to call the shots. I'm hoping the giant bugger is arrogant enough to face me one on one.

Zelda's still flanked on either side, and the concern is once again in her eyes, burning holes into my eyes even as hers water up with tears. It isn't because of weakness though, she's still keeping a relatively straight face. It's anger. The terror has passed only to be replaced with unbidden rage. She's furious. And I can't blame her, usually I'm the brunt of her anger, but this man has meddled with both our lives for far too long.

I'm doing my best to dodge the horde of Gerudos, but I can't help but leave most of my body vulnerable. Armor has never sounded better. Sure, I have shoulder guards, but that's nothing. Even octorocks have better protection than that. Heck, I bet that stupid hat I always wore is better than whatever bloodied getup I'm in now, which is saying a lot.

Their scimitars and daggers are cutting into me, tearing at my clothes. I can't keep this up for much longer, one or two Gerudo is usually a handful... but _ten_. Sweet merciful Din... why do they have to be so dang spirited?

There's another flash, much louder and angrier than when I had pulled out the blade of evil's bane, and then I'm met once again with his hulking form.

In profile view, his nose is a gigantic monolith on his face, underneath- in the shadows of that nose- is a satisfied grin, on the edge of insanity. He holds his right hand up to me, forming a fist with his fingers.

I pause for a moment, and so do the Gerudos around me, much to my surprise. I have a to squint a bit at first, but then I see it.

Glowing, on his palm, is a golden triangle- _the_ sacred golden triangle. The Triforce.

The bottom two fade slightly, leaving the top to shine an even brighter shade of gold, highlighting his maniacal face, cutting the rest into crude shadows.

So it begins.

The feeling of resonance is back, although real this time. This isn't just a taste of déjà vu... he must've split apart the Triforce again, too power hungry to hold wisdom and courage.

There's a slight burning sensation on my palm. It doesn't hurt bad, it's just so warm to my skin that it feels as if a flame has been lit. I look down, seeing my own triangle staring back at me. The triangle to the right starts to glow brighter, and I set my jaw again, clenching my hands tighter around my sword and shield, ready for his attack.


	41. A beast awakens

I sink down lower to the ground with my blade out at the ready as he steps back into the main room, his hand still held up towards his face, glowing gold.

More anger seeps into me, I didn't know this level of anger could even be achievable. I can see red and my eyebrows are so close to my eyes, I swear I can see the barest hints of them in my upper vision. And my eyes are narrowed into slits. I'm seething, practically foaming at the mouth like those rabid wolfos in the woods. I feel like an animal, my emotions are raw and it's a pain and a half trying to keep them in their cages.

Adrenaline is whizzing through my veins and I can feel the animalistic instinct within me, urging me to fight. Maybe it's the master sword in my grip or the triangle on my hand, but I start to remember how it felt to fight, to really fight.

This is it. Fight or flight. And I won't be running, just like he didn't run way back when.

I'm so angry at him, that's what is fueling my fire. I can feel my throat gash, but just barely, all my focus is on him and how much I want to slash at him till he's nothing but a mangled up corpse, mutilated and very very dead.

My teeth are basically grinding into each other from the pressure, my mouth clamped shut, a violent grimace on my face. I can see his red eyebrows rise in mock surprise, before burrowing back down over his eyes, another one of his stupidly smug grins smack dab under that nose.

"Heh. You've still got that attitude, huh kid? This'll be interesting."

"I'll beat you to a pulp, old man." I get out, trying to keep a cool countenance, although my words are simmering.

I've got to keep a cool head, try and get his anger up and bubbling to the surface. When he's angry he's even more crazy and he gets careless. His rage will be his downfall. All I've got to do is keep it coming with the snappy remarks, which is something I can admit to be at least somewhat good at. Fighting may have gone out the window in the last eight or so years, but annoying people is a specialty.

I see him grimace, clenching his first even tighter. So I've already pressed some of his buttons, rubbed him the wrong way. He doesn't respond, but I can see the Triforce on his hand start to glow brighter. The light blinds me, along with everyone in at least a seven foot radius. Everything fades to white when the light wraps around his body like some sort of cocoon. Is he already becoming a boar this early?

The boar is the embodiment of his rage, a manifestation of his power but also his hatred. It's all of his horrible raw emotions mushed into one ugly pig. Seems to have the brain of one too, but he's still a hulking giant boar, brutish and feisty.

He could still saw me in half, not even one bit phased by my spinal cord or my ribs, especially not my organs. He'd hack through those no problem.

I've got to stay on my toes. While he was less powerful in his other form, he also had a clearer mind, able to be at least somewhat sly and sneaky. Pig Ganon couldn't _dream_ of being stealthy. His footsteps shake the ground, more similar to thunder than any normal step. You could hear him coming from streets away. Probably could see him too, now that I think about it.

Ganondorf was already a giant of a man to start with, well past six feet- maybe even seven. And he's only more monstrous and impossibly tall now, I'd have to crane my neck up to see his smushed in pig snout and those glowing angry eyes.

I push my fear into the deepest corner of my mind, trying to seen flippant, almost bored, cocky.

And holy Hylia... he's practically _bacon_. Raw pork. Very raw... he's still moving. The thought seems to help a bit, it's just so bizarre and ridiculous. I'm basically fighting a giant ham. One with a certain vehement hatred for me. Well, that goes both ways. I want to roast this pathetic pig as much as he wants to skewer my head to a spear or something.

"Hey porkchops," I watch his attention snap to me, a very piggish squeal escaping his hulking mouth, complete with sharp teeth and two overgrown tusks, gleaming white in the bright room. I think it's safe to say he wants to kill me even more now. Maybe he'll display my whole mutilated corpse on a spear. How kind of the guy. "why don't you come and fight me? Or is your pig brain too dense?" I snark, watching his eyes narrow into even smaller and sharper shapes.

Beast Ganondorf seems incapable of speech, making this a very one sided conversation. Any rematch I had imagined in my head against the guy was alway full of banter and cutting remarks about the other's poor taste in fashion, among other topics. I mean, I had that stupid hat and he wore a _leotard_ and literally... I kid you not, had a _rug_ for a cape. It had tassels and everything, swanky but a rug just the same. But now, he's a squealing, growling, reduced into nothing but angry noises. No longer able to articulate some sort of comeback.

I'm surprised that fact actually upsets me.

I can see as his shoulders bend forward, sending him slouching closer to the ground, towards me. I grip the master sword's indigo hilt tighter, watching the bronze blades in the beasts' hands. They're massive, almost as long as I am. And sharp, I got slashed a few times during my last battle with the King of Thieves, and they smarted like there was no tomorrow. And ironically, there was no tomorrow, I got sent back before I could recover properly, catch my breath. That final storming of the castle had been overwhelming and stressful and a load of work. There wasn't time to rest. But she hadn't even let me have a breather. Gone. Just like that. But there's no use harboring more resentment now, especially if I'm trying to protect both of our lives. I may not get why the psychotic woman decided to do it, but it's already been said and done.

I grin as he smashes his way over to me, shaking the building from his thunderous steps.

His right hand starts to move back, readying itself for a swing at me. I back away as fast as I can as the huge instrument of destruction comes hurtling to the ground just a few inches shy of splitting me right down the middle.

But I had anticipated anything more. Big mistake. He may be a stupid pig, but there's still the slightest hint of slyness.

The bigger managed to get his left sword out at the ready and land a slash on my side. I stumble away, feeling the sharp sting as bloody sprays out. There's a new rip in my shirt, already saturated with blood.

I grit my teeth. Why did I forget the most important strategy the King used? He's unpredictable and can be a threat largely because of the fact that this man plays dirty. Ganondorf screws the rules and will do anything to get what he wants, cutting corners to do so. He'll make shady deals behind closed doors, undermining the alliance the Hylians has hoped to forge with the Zoras and the Gorons.

For the next few moments, I keep well away Ganondorf, watching as he stomps after me. His growls are animalistic, and he's getting careless as I feel my anger once again bury deep into me. The beast sweeps his swords out erratically, gutting out the pillars. The columns fracture and start to collapse, shaking the building. This place will collapse if he isn't careful, burying us all in the slabs and shards of rubble. I can't let that happen.

The Temple is too small anyway, the last time I fought Ganondorf's beast form, we had space to move around, I feel too shoved in here, cut off. The room is long, but it's too narrow for me to really keep my distance.

I'm close to the door, and while still facing the giant mound of uncooked bacon, I start to back up slowly towards it. He seems slow to figure out what I'm planning, but I can see his glowing eyes widen. I turn and run, busting out of the Temple of Time.

Huge, rumbling booms of footsteps follow, and I barely get a head start to avoid the blast radius of destruction. The pig-brained monster rammed through the wall, sending out pieces of rubble in every direction. Plumes of dust come towards me, leading to a coughing fit.

The goddesses should've sent thunder down when he decided to leave an impromptu window smack dab in the middle of building, calling it an eyesore is an understatement. It's a disgrace. Blasphemy.

The dust starts to settle, and he's a dark menace against the bright lights in the interior of the Temple.

The war is loud, all surrounding. There's explosions and screams and battle cries and about a hundred other sounds, all mashed into one collective sound that is the embodiment of chaos.

It's almost unbearable to hear, because I connect the sounds of struggle and pain to the growing pile of corpses in the ground. And something tells me most of them are Hylians. Especially since the Zora won't be backing us. The dirty traitors.

He starts to charge at me, ready to attack, and I take a chance to form my counter. When he's about to slash me into mince meat, I evade the attack and manage to slip to his back, landing a gash on his calf in the process.

Any part of this giant, living ham is fair game, but the tail would be the bullseye in archery. That's why it's especially funny that it's colorful. He's just asking to be stabbed there.

Last time, I had cut it up into mutilated meat, some hunks missing, but I'm confused as to why it never came to mind to just chop the thing clean off.

I grip the master sword in both hands, raising the blade up so I can get as much force into this slash as I can.

I swing down, the blade cleaves downwards, faster than the cross guard side, embedding itself into his tail.

The beast roars, already poised to turn around and bat me away. I panic, trying to hurry up my movements. All the momentum I had building is gone, so I resort to pathetic sawing motions. That's quickly foiled however, and I manage to sidehop a bit to avoid any fatal damage. But I still get hit. As always. My right arm gets caught in the crossfire, and it takes a second for my arm to get drenched in blood, the stuff sprays out of my cut, and the pain becomes so extreme it's like my arm is just numb to any of it, the nerves shot.

Maybe I'm getting careless too... I'm taking to many risks, the stakes are getting precariously high at this point. Unfortunately, cold and calculated has never been a strong suit of mine, I don't strategize and plan ahead, I just rush in and try to get in as much damage as I can. I'm usually terrified out of my mind too, but I just try to ignore it. Just like now. If I wasn't overloaded on adrenaline, I'd probably be shaking.

This boar of death is staring me straight in the face.

But it's just one person- one beast. The Gerudos have all basically disappeared, into the battle with the rest of his forces. It's just him to deal with.

Does that mean the ones guarding Zelda have made their leave as well? I would look, but I can't afford to risk even a quick glance right now. All my concentration is on Ganondorf, ready to charge me down. She'd want me to focus on my fight. The princess is fully capable of defending herself when it really comes down to it. But still, I can't shake the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

In the darkness, I'm almost convinced this will be easier. It seems the opposite, but Ganondorf is easy enough to track in this form by sound alone. And those boar eyes almost glow too.

The darkness could end up helping me, giving me some sort of stealth. Unless of course, I run into the pig head on. It's always a gamble.

He's rustling around, and the piggish noises are the closest thing I can hear, the explosions and screams in the background. Should I risk snarking it up?

He's still a silhouette in front of the Temple of Time, and I'm rushing towards him before I can form any sort of solid plan.

The porkchop must've seen me coming, and I barely land a gash on his leg before I knocked aside, pain explodes across my body, throwing me into a world of hurt.

Here's to being impulsive.

I can feel the hard stone floor collide with my body, particularly my chin and cheek, only inciting more damage. Just peachy. I must be hurt pretty bad, because the pain has spread across my whole body, and I can't tell where the initial gash was made. All I can tell, is that it was a large one and a somewhat deep one.

The pain starts to level out, overloading my already exhausted senses into a somewhat disconnected and numb ache. That's not good. Are my nerves slowly dying? Am I going to die?

I don't know.

I'm starting to lose my grip on my thoughts and my confidence and snark falls into the abyss in my stomach. Dead.

I don't want to move, worried that'll somehow make it a heck of a lot worse. But really, how much more blood can come out of me? I feel soaked in the stuff as it is.

The stone floor presses into my cheek, and the stones are wet to the touch. Great.

All I can do is lie there, trying to ignore the pain. A pathetic end for a pathetic guy like me, I suppose. Maybe if I hadn't abandoned the life of the hero, then maybe I could have faced Ganondorf. Maybe I could have had the courage to tell Malon the truth right away.

I can feel my senses start to dull and fade away. I start to pass out slowly, probably from blood loss.

The goddesses must be laughing. A former hero stuck in an immobilized state, dying slowly is hilarious. Plain and simple.

But, I can't accept this. There's still a fight in me. I can't shake it.

Ganondorf somehow hasn't found my incapacitated body yet, I can hear the booms of his footsteps.

"Link!"

Huh? The voice is muddied, am I just hearing things?

Out of nowhere, in the darkness, I can feel myself turned over onto my back. The pain is unbearable.

The voice returns, this time choked up with tears, "Don't die..." there's a sniffle, "I swear to the goddesses, Link you better not die or I'm going to kill you." I can tell whoever it is- Zelda, I'm almost sure of at this point- is trying her darnedest to sound angry. It must've always been an easier emotion for her, just like when she sent me back. Dealing with the pain is better with some fire in your belly. Her anger seems flimsy in comparison to the roiling sadness right under the facade. I can almost see the knot in her throat, the incoming sob. That only makes me feel worse.

I'm locked in my position, somehow not dead or unconscious yet- but I'm on the verge of it.

I try to open my eyes, but all I see are blobs and blurs, and the world burns into my vision. I can barely make out the princess' face, cut up and bruised but alive and here. If I could, I would've smirked. She _can_ handle herself.

I feel something wet land on my face, the droplet pools and starts to slip down my cheek. More follow. Are they tears? I don't want her to cry, especially not over me. I don't want her pity.

I've got to end this. Now.


	42. A long lost hero

Her strong act must've broke, because I can feel her head on my chest, sobbing.

I give up on keeping my eyes open, staring at the back of my eyelids. For whatever reason, my mind drifts back to my past heroics. And my hope hasn't dwindled. You'd think I'd welcome death, but my fight isn't gone yet. An annoying habit I suppose.

Is the Triforce of Courage still inside of me? That must be at least one reason I haven't let myself slip into lunconsciousness. Farore's last ditch gift is once again burning a hole in my pocket- or rather my hand. Even as numbness carries away most of the other pain, I can feel the back of my hand. It's scorching, but it doesn't sting like any other burn I've had in my life. It's warm all right, but I can't feel my skin melt or burn. Is this that darned goddess' way of trying to pump raw courage through me? I had always believed, at least since after my time in Termina, that I was as good as dead to them. My lot in life no longer suited their ordained purpose for me, and the Triforce no longer had any hold on me. But scratch that thought, because the mark of the sacred triangles had found me again. And it hurts.

Either it burns because the fight isn't over yet, because it's still burning within me-literally, or the goddesses are jerks and love to mess with me. ...I'm leaning towards the latter. Whatever the reason, it's the only thread keeping me from conking out, stone cold and dead.

I'm not one to believe in fate anymore- or specifically, _enjoy_ the cards fate hands me - but I have a feeling that I have to get back up. Farore's lighting my hand up and turning it on high. We're cooking with gas now.

I'm terrified and yet I've never felt more fired up. More ready. It's crazy really, I'm knocked to the ground, _incapacitated_ , and yet I'm still stuck fast. Stubborn as ever.

I start to get up, fueled only by a mix of stupidly reckless courage and some mortal terror. Fun stuff. Oh, and stubbornness too.

I'm on my back, and the stones feel completely soaked underneath my shredded tunic.

How has Ganondorf not found us yet? I don't know, the world around me is only the backs of my eyelids and the pain and the sobbing. A little bubble of chock full of nothing good.

I try to break away, coaxing what little concentration I have to get myself up. I grit my teeth and clench my fingers into fists.

Before I can let the stupidness of this idea really sink in, I jerk myself up. Bad idea.

The feeling rip roars through my body, and I dug my teeth into my lip to stop the gasps of pain. I've gotta get used to the feeling. And fast. This absolute goddess darned _idiot_ that is myself is gonna have a lot more to worry about than a stomach ache in seconds.

I hear my name and see her grab my shoulders and start to help me up. There's still a few tears on her face I can see in the almost blackness, but my vision is gritty and granular. It's as if everything is made out of sand.

"You're not fighting. I'm going to protect you."

She looks so beat up and horrible.

The sadness in her eyes isn't as prominent and I know she's putting her guard back up. Her voice is strong although I can sense the weakness. They've just about drained Zelda to nothing a skinny, bruised husk of a person. What did they do to her exactly? One look at her broken face makes me change my mind however, I don't want to know. Maybe it's just exhaustion, cause I doubt she's been able to sleep well- or sleep at all- but the bags under her eyes look like dark purple and black bruises, soft, curved blobs next to the bridge of her nose.

She sounds so sure of herself though, even when her voice wavers.

"T-that pile of bacon is going down with me, or so help me... I swear to the goddesses... he's dead." My voice is weak and shakes, but I manage to get a grip on myself. The anger seeps back into me, and I try to keep my pain on the fringes of my consciousness.

Zelda pauses and doesn't respond. The princess was dead set on protecting me. She already has been, in the lull my eyes drift away from her. The world around us is tinted blue, and the sounds from the outside are so quieted I can't hear them, although I can almost feel their impression. It's some sort of pocket, some safe haven. Oh. Of course, Nayru's Love.

The crystalline surface is slightly glossy and I can now see the seams of where the different facets of the crystal meet, spinning in a slow circle.

"Fine. But you better be careful fairy boy... I wasn't kidding when I said I'd kill you," if this were any other circumstance, I might've laughed or spun a retort back in her face, but now isn't the time. I know she's serious. The crystal glows with a small blue aura, letting me see her testy disposition.

Her face softens more, and she pulls me all the way up. I'm surprised. Zelda has done this before, but she looks so weak and sickly now. Appearance wise, the slightest wind could knock her down or blow her away, and even the Kokiri's sword would pose a problem. But she's still going. And so am I. On fumes.

"I can't hold this much longer, he'll be back on us soon. Be ready."

I do a quick nod in response, struggling to get my gear in my hands and to focus. A jittery nervous energy has taken up residence inside of me, which only gets stronger as Zelda's power starts to drain. First the crystal's light dims, and then there's a series of flickers. One more period of calm and then it's out like a light. The whole thing seems to shatter into a million pieces, bursting out and away from us before disappearing into the air.

The spell is simple enough- I could do it just fine- but you can't have it forever. The princess' skin seems to develop more of a pallor and she looks faint. This must've taken a lot out of her. But by some miracle, she still stands.

It's go time.

"Hey porkchops!" I yell out, the act of that alone is enough to twist my face up in pain, but I have to keep my weakness hidden. It only gives him a leg up if he knows how much I'm shaking, how much I'm fearing death.

This is what courage is. I've got the holy Hylias scared out of me, and yet I've still got the nerves- and probably a death wish- to stand back up. Wisdom's the only one out of the three without any real downsides.

Power is such an intense want to have everything under control, to dominate all. Power needs to be exercised with caution, but Ganondorf lets the lust for power consume him.

Courage can make someone stupid and reckless. Being brave is noble, but sometimes you need to save your own neck instead of sticking it out all the time. Ignoring your fear and doubts and plunging ahead could very well spell the end for you.

I'm surprised he wasn't towering over our small pocket of protection the whole time, but he's not too far off. The pig is predictable. The thing's huge but his brain must be the size of my fist. Both together at the largest. He always was brutish and denser than a brick wall but as a beast it's so ridiculous and stupid that it's comical. To get the form of a beast, the embodiment of raw power and night, he's traded the mind of a man for one of a simple-minded animal fueled on instinct alone. There's no sophistication. It's cut and dry, he's just trying to kill us now. We're the targets, the boar could've gone into the battle and wreaked havoc but he's stood fixed on the spot.

I can see him start come over, and the anxiety clings to me. I have to be ready this time.

The stomping grows louder and he's so close he's almost on top of me.

I panic, hesitating as I flail out my sword, trying to remember how to move and fight and breathe. My mind's a scrambled mess. Everything is jumbled and I have to yell at myself in my head to get out of the way before I'm cleaved in half. And I barely make it. The wind whips by my ear, and one of his blades rams itself into the stone.

I'm still standing there when there's a bright flash. It seems to shoot a beam at the beast and he writhes for a few seconds before he stops. Stunned.

The princess has given me a chance to attack. Better get a hit in before he recovers. She'll never let me hear the end of it if I'm stupid enough to botch this up.

I force myself into a run. It feels clumsy and awkward, and the world seems to be tilting to the side, but I get another quick slash at his leg before I'm back towards the tail.

I don't know how much longer this pig will be stunned, but another hit won't hurt.

Instead of trying to get my hands in the perfect position, I just keep the sword in my left hand and get the edge of the blade perpendicular to the beginning of his tail. There's already the small bloody cut from earlier, but it's just a dent. All it has done was miff him off more.

Instead of trying to embed my blade in without any momentum, I slice at it, trying to at least deepen what I'd already started.

I'm almost thrown to the ground when he starts to whip around, a low growl fills the air. His tail is twitching with pain, stained with blood.

Before I can react, I get slashed in the side, and I topple, feeling the rough ground scratch my arm. The stones dig into my shoulder. He's on top of me again. Just great.

Every hit this guy makes on me knocks me to the ground. I know he's a lot stronger and more powerful than me, but I've fought him before and I'll be darned if I'm too pathetic to do it again. As horrible as it is, my main motivation to defeat this pile of bacon isn't for the good of Hyrule, it's because I'm so blasted angry at this stupid man and a way to prove to everyone that they were wrong about me. Dead wrong.

It's revenge. Raw, burning revenge. I'm so angry, I'm taking it all out on Ganondorf. I'm not a selfless savior. It's just like Termina. I only fought through those dungeons so I could leave. That was the only way. A deal's a deal.

There isn't time to think much about where my morality lies. It's definitely in the grey are, but I don't know what my motives truly are anymore. The most my fried brain can come up with is so I can survive. If I manage that, I'll have all the time in the world to dissect my reasons. It won't even matter then.

I can tell he's starting to slow down. The cuts are catching up to him. Ganondorf was slow to begin with in this form, strong but also heavy and hulking, but there's real hesitation in his movements now. It's time to go in for the kill.

I lift myself up again from the ground, my knees threaten to buckle under me. I've been weakened too, just like Ganondorf, but I lug myself to my feet. My legs feel disconnected and limp, and it's a miracle within itself that I'm somehow still trying I fight- _struggling_ to. I can't decide if the courage in me is somewhat admirable or completely reckless and stupid.

Zelda's on the other side of the overgrown pig, and the pile of uncooked bacon has his back turned to me. She must be distracting him.

My hands are shaking and I want to lie down on the ground and fall asleep forever, but the fight is still inside of me.

It's almost as if I can head Farore in my head, whispering in my ear, screaming at me... whatever, urging me on. This man- or this _beast_ \- has gone too far. He can't hold the full Triforce, none of us three can. I've got to get my feet in motion and end him for Farore's sake- literally. I've gotta hurry the holy Hylia up.

Is it piggish intelligence or arrogance? The idiot forgot to wear armor, leaving his whole back exposed to any attack I wanna do. I'll let my blade stab into him, smite this man and let the master sword truly become the blade of evil's bane. Sounds a lovely idea. He's so distracted, I doubt he'll notice it until the blade is sticking out of his chest. I can hear tiny pops and explosions from Zelda's direction. Hopefully once I land my hit, she'll follow suit with one of her own.

I hurry up with my hands and then aim the tip of the sword right in the middle of his back. I have to angle the blade slightly up, since he's so massive, but it'll still totally jack up his insides. This will immobile him for sure.

I'm not even aware of my own pain as I drive my sword into him. It must be adrenaline. All the sounds around me seem to cut out as well, except for the angry roar of pain. I can feel him start to try and jerk away, but I hold fast. His struggling only edges the blade deeper inside him.

I've got my teeth gritted together, and my mouth starts to ache along with the rest of my body.

The world starts to black out, and I'm still getting jostled around. My hold starts to loosen and then everything cuts out.

The last thing I feel is the back of my hand. In the complete darkness, the triangle seems to glow. I don't know how I'm able to see it. Aren't my eyes shut?

———

I don't manage to wake up and stay up until days later.

With Ganondorf dead, the Gorons stopped their fight against us. Without him, they had no hold to their bargain. They told me afterwards that Darunia had hated how cowardly the Gorons had become. In exchange for their forces and the ruby, they would be spared from the king's wrath.

The Zoras had never turned against us. It was some sort of ploy. They'd handed over the sapphire but I guess Dohean had been right to trust them.

The battle wrapped up quick once Ganondorf had been taken down. I don't remember any of it, heck, I was sleeping the whole time. But they said they'd driven back the Gerudo from Castle Town. And as stubborn and feisty as those women are, surrendered once they knew their King was dead. At least the desert warriors are smart enough to know when to stop.

She was there when I woke up.

_Everything hurts. That's the first solid thought I form as I drift into some semblance of wakefulness. I don't even know where the pain begins. It's just a dull and thick ache over my whole body. I think this is what being beaten to a pulp feels like._

_"You're finally up, fairy boy."_

_My eyes snap fully open at that. I can't tell if there's annoyance or relief in the voice, maybe a mix of both. Light floods into my eyes, but I manage to get my gaze onto her face._

_She looks a bit better from before, but still... shouldn't she be in a bed of her own? There's bandages adorning her face and neck, and the bruises seem less noticeable. Her skin, still a sickly pale color, has traces of healthy rosiness._

_"H-hey princess."_

_Can it hurt to talk? It's a weak, low growl that's on the verge of fading out into oblivion._

_I see a small smile on her face._

_"Correct me if I'm wrong..." I have to take another breath, which only hurts me more, but I continue, "but if this isn't a dream, if we've somehow managed to win, then for the love of Nayru... shouldn't you be in bed?"_

_Her face flashes with mock irritation, and she starts to laugh softly. It cuts off almost too fast, and hurt blooms in her eyes. The crazy, psychotic princess, she should be as bedridden as I am for Farore's sake._

_I bristle at the princess, my eyes start to narrow. She's ridiculous._

_"It's okay, I'm okay..." I hear the rustle of the blankets as Zelda's hand finds mine. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You could've died..."_

_A shadow seems to fall across her face, and I can feel her grip on me tighten. Is she about to cry? I don't want her to._

_"Hey... don't cry Zelda. I'm fine. I'm all peachy keen."_

_I start to try and sit up, but all that does is send me into a fit of pain. I feel my face muscle tense up and I clench my teeth._

_"Idiot... you're not fine." It's crazy how fast the princess' voice can go from annoyed to choked up._

_"Well you aren't either." I retort back._

_Her eyes dart down and it looks like she's holding back sobs. The princess' voice is soft when she finds her words, "I didn't want you to die."_

_I feel a pang but try to ignore it, instead I crack a smirk and try to pull her gaze back to my face._

_"Nope. You've still got to put up with me. I'm not going anywhere."_

_I don't know what our relationship is, and I know I haven't forgiven her yet, but I let her share the bed with me anyway._


	43. She hasn’t given up

It's an overcast day.

I'm out in one of the courtyards, just letting my mind drift. Rubble is still everywhere, but things are starting to revert back to normal, even if it's slower than Dampé. After the Gerudo surrendered- although begrudgingly- reclaiming the Hylians' land was easy. Without a master, the monsters were even more mindless and the ground we'd lost was regained. All there's left to do is negotiate some sort of peace treaty and rebuild what was destroyed.

I don't fit into that though, even though I was the one who killed Ganondorf along with Zelda, I wasn't a soldier and I'm no good at diplomacy. I've just been spending my days wandering around.

I don't know why I haven't just slinked back into my life in the woods. That seems best for someone like me. But I'm still on the fence about it. I'm already mostly healed from the fight, but I keep hesitating. I should just go. I belong in the woods.

She'll probably find me soon enough, even though she's been incredibly busy. It's been around a week since the fighting ended, and Zelda is already about to be coronated. I guess it's because there's no use waiting for the kingdom to be restored. Hyrule needs a ruler, especially now. The world's been turned on its head and the people need a leader. Personally, I prefer being a loner.

Today seems like the day to leave though, I've got all my gear strapped on me. My pouch is on my hip and my shield is on my back. The master sword was missing from my stuff when I woke up, and I think it's still by the Temple of Time, stuck in his corpse. I wouldn't know, I haven't left the castle. I think they're saving his body for last, right now it's a slowly rotting corpse with a sword sticking out of it. Lovely. A grim reminder of the battle that bled through this place. Heck, castletown must be painted red- splattered with blood, even more than the original massacre. Hyrule is tainted in blood. Morbid, I know, but true.

I jump a little when I feel a tap on my shoulder, my heart thuds in my chest.

"What is it with you and heart attacks?!" I grumble, trying to calm my heartbeats. That princess loves to scare the ever loving _crap_ out of me.

Zelda starts to laugh, which only makes me feel more prickly with irritation. Rubbing salt in a wound.

"I'm sorry," she has to pause as the giggles become uncontrollable. Is she about to fall over? Her hand seems to have tightened on my shoulder, "scaring you is too much fun fairy boy."

"Uh huh, you're lucky I'm so goddess darned entertaining." I say, the snark barely manages to hide the annoyance in my voice. But the banter and annoyance is part of whatever our relationship is. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it.

Zelda finally seems to get a handle on herself and for a moment it's silent. The sky is covered with thick, soupy clouds that hang over us. The air is cool and there's a slight wind, making the tall grass and clumps of weeds rustle against each other.

"Please don't tell me you're leaving today."

I try to act coy, but it crumbles and I can feel my cheeks flare up. Sneaky observant bugger.

"So what if I am?" I snark back, stupidly defensive.

I hear her sigh and move down to sit on the broken steps beside me. It's the same as when I met her for the first time, although the courtyard is in ruins now. It's pathetic how dilapidated the castle has become.

"I know you feel like you don't belong here, but can you stay for me?"

I look at her, silent. I don't know what to say, banter is one thing, but the mood has gone to somber. I almost feel like I'm being called out, which is ridiculous. She may be my superior, but I don't fit in this life.

What does Zelda want me to do? Guard her? Advise her? I have nothing to offer. I feel my face heat up more when I get another idea. Does she want me to be with her?

"I can't be what you want me to be, if that's what you mean. I'd never be able to help you. We'd kill each other...-"

"I don't expect anything of you, no one will," I turn my head to face her. She's serious, I can tell because of the hardened look in her eyes, and the slight angry flush on her cheeks. "I'll make sure no one does. I don't want you to be alone."

What do I say? As much as I'm touched that she'd even want me to stay, I know this won't work. We'll still destroy each other, and even if we don't, I'll never be able to pull my weight. I can't be a ruler, even when I try to by diplomatic, it all turns into threats and testy irritation. I don't have the countenance for this life. Zelda knows that.

I make up my mind and start to stand. I've got to go, sort things out I guess.

"I can't stay, I'm going back to my old life."

"I have the power to lock you up and force you to stay you know," she retorts, standing up with me.

I get out a laugh. I can't tell if she's being serious or not. ...Honestly leading towards the former.

"I know you do," I say, still trying to keep the mood lighthearted, but this is dreary. I know all too well that the princess would lock me up and trap me here, but I don't understand why she'd fight so hard for me to say. I get on her nerves everyday. Zelda would regret making me stay, I guarantee.

Even so, the princess seems both sad and miffed that I would even _dream_ of leaving. I pull her towards me, I don't know what I'm trying to do. This is some sort of send off, I still love her, but I'm leaving. I don't want to live a life in a castle, Zelda seemed so miserable, no one took her seriously besides Impa. Hopefully that will change when she's the legitimate queen. But knowing Dohean, I doubt he'll let her off that easy.

"I've got to go now, okay?" I have the nerve to look her in the eye, seeing anger and hurt mix together. She hadn't wanted me to leave the first time either, when I went to look for that bossy bug. I end up leaning my head down to kiss her on the forehead. There's a jerk from her, like she's about to pull away.

"I'm not giving up on you." She leans her head back so I have to look her in the eye, she seems dead set on keeping me here, just like keeping me at the ranch. I climbed onto the roof and that wasn't even enough. The look in her eye is so intense, I start to feel scared, as stupid as that sounds. But I'm not backing out now.

I coax her hands off my shoulders, which takes more effort than I was expecting.

\---

_epilogue_

I get a weird sense of déjà vu.

I'm up in a tree, sitting with my back against the trunk. It's taken awhile, but the color green is starting to appear again in the Lost Woods. It's coming back in the form of budding leaves and undergrowth breaking through the ashy dirt. This place will be overgrown soon enough, these woods have a mind of its own.

The sun is dappled onto the patchy ground below, and everything is tinted with green, just like it used to.

For old time's sake, I fiddle with my pouch until I find the ocarina. I should return it back to the royal family, but somehow I have a bad feeling that I'll only get roped into the life Zelda wants for me. Part of me wonders if I should have stayed with her.

Sometimes I miss her, although I hate to admit it. I wonder if she's haunted by what she had to endure. She never told me about what they did, it was a tricky topic, just like with my three day purgatory in Termina.

The war, at least here in the woods, seems to have been a sort of bad dream. I can barely tell it even happened here. Of course, there were no battles here. Sure, the fire had decimated a lot of the vegetation, but the sense of peace is back.

The ocarina is just as cool and smooth as that faraway day, back when I'd made the stupid decision to find the princess and cut every tie. It backfired though, because that just seems to be a part of my life. The goddesses like messing with me. In hindsight though, I don't regret what I did, but I could just as well have stayed here in the forest.

Like the long ago day, I lean my head back against the bark and let my eyelids droop. Sometimes I still get haunted by the memories of my time there, but it doesn't grip me as much or as hard as it did. About time.

I don't know how long I sit like this, but I just listen to the wind rustling the leaves and blowing my bangs into my face. I'll probably go out and find some food in a bit. I'm not busy, but a life of leisure doesn't quite measure it up. I guess more like one of solitude. I wonder what they're all up to. Edmund, Malon, and of course Zelda.

"Fairy boy."

I snap my eyes open, unbelieving. Impossible. She's a queen, she wouldn't trek all the way out here. I'm more pathetic than I thought. Geez, if I had known I'd be this homesick about it then maybe I should've just stayed!

But there's a possibility it is really her. The princes- _queen_ , whatever.

I can't even hold back the grin when I meet her eyes. I can barely compare her to the tortured, broken Zelda. She looks like a new person, but with her own hardships. She must be exhausted, it looks like she never sleeps, the bags under her eyes are dark and even though she has the queenly posture down pat, the weight of everyone on her shoulders must be a heavy burden.

And hey... she's kept the short hair. It's a bit more even then my mediocre job, but the spiky layers are still there.

"Why did you even come here?" I ask, still smiling like an idiot.

Am I still mad at her? Even though I can still feel it, it's weak, just a glowing pile of embers, about to go out. I might not understand why she decided to send me back, there's nothing either of us can do to change it. All we can do is go on with our lives. The funny thing is that she seems to have gone on with hers, stepping up to be Queen, but on the other hand, I've just slid back into my old life. Somehow that doesn't seem as admirable. Is there really a place for me? In the back of my mind, part of me is unsatisfied with my life. I feel older than the kokiris now then ever, I guess the war aged me a lot. Not literally, but through wisdom and knowledge. I'm that piece that no longer fits here.

"I told you I wouldn't give up, remember?"

I do. The queen is adamant and stubborn about a lot of things, this is no different. I see her smile back at me, and my mind takes me back to the day I'd woken up. Of course, her happiness had just about died when I left. And yet she's back, not ready to give up.

"I missed you too Zelda," I say, watching her eyes narrow up at me. Okay... I like to tick her off, sue me. "Why don't you come up here, you can climb a tree right?"

Oh wait. Of course she can, Zelda's a ninja for Din's sake.

Her eyes are still daggers, and her sly grin is just as sharp.

"Sure."

Saying she hopped up the tree would be an understatement. She zips over to the base of the tree and then pulls out some sort of Sheikah super jump, landing on the branches with such agility and grace that I'm dumbfounded. I grew up here, and yet I look like a bumbling moron climbing a tree compared to her.

The princess stops once she's a little bit below me, standing on her branch with ease.

"Point taken." I get out. Her grin turns sinister, and I'm barely away of her hand latching onto mine before there's a violent jerk.

I've still got one hand on the ocarina and one clasped in the princess' as the world flashes and sways around me. She's still as psychotic as ever I guess. Some things never change.

The ground comes too fast and hard, my body smacks against the dirt, making my ears ring. Her laughter sounds like a monster scream with my distorted hearing, reverberating around inside my head.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking..."

The princess helps me up, and I put two and two together. She isn't talking about pulling me off the tree. I guess Zelda's still hung up on that.

"I had thought I'd done the right thing, but what I did was unforgivable."

Zelda's voice is so cold and serious, but she must have a lump in her throat. The edges of her words seem pained and watery.

She's ridiculous. I'm ridiculous. This whole goddess darned world is. My emotions rise up fast and quick, and I decide to let my impulsive side win.

"It's okay, I forgive you. I may not understand, but it doesn't matter anymore."

She pauses, her eyes wide. Is she surprised? Am I really that much of a grudge holding jerk? I don't know whether to be flattered or offended.

"I'll make it up to you any way I can, I'm sorry I pressured you back then to stay with me."

"It's okay, I was just running away as usual."

I thought I'd vowed to not run away anymore, but I love being a hypocrite I guess. Wonderful. Freaking great. I was scared, terrified even. People already have their opinions of me, and I don't want to cause any animosity between those people and their queen just because I'm involved. To everyone, I'm just a disobedient rookie with an attitude problem. I'm not even mad... they're not wrong.

"You don't have to run away, idiot."

I scoff, "I know that _princess_ -"

"I'm a queen now." She doesn't sound amused. Bother.

I sigh, "You're right though, I told myself I wouldn't run anymore."

I had spent most of the war running away from everything, my duties, my feelings, my fears, Zelda as a whole, and the war itself. It's funny in a pathetically ironic way that I'm the one who holds the Triforce of Courage. All I do is run.

"And besides," I finish for her, since it's the last thing that lingers in the air between us, "I don't have a choice anyway, do I?"

\---

If I had told myself that I'd end up with her of all people, I would've laughed my head off. Maybe even have stabbed myself once I figured out I was serious.

But yes, fate has no intentions of letting Zelda and I go our separate ways. Because the goddesses want to see the world burn. Of course they do.

Zelda wasn't kidding though. Dohean looked less than thrilled- scratch that, _royally_ disappointed- when we eventually got married, but Zelda didn't care. All he is now is a grizzled old war veteran, and a formed general. He ended up having to resign, fate had been unkind. The war had knocked him out of commission.

Malon got over her hurt feelings and things have been fine. As fine as they ever were, which isn't peachy keen but I don't mind. All three of us are back to being good ole' pals, although Edmund is spending too much time in Gerudo Desert to visit. If he keeps it up he'll become the next honorary member of the Gerudo tribe, second after me of course. It's because _she's_ there. Word on the street is that he's smitten with a Gerudo. One of Nabooru's. It's the crazy one.

As for Zelda and I, it's not always okay, but we get through it. I wasn't kidding when I said we'd destroy each other, we get at each other's throats more times than I'd care to admit, but I don't mind. I guess it is true then, the ones you love the most are also the ones you hurt the most. That just about sums up our whole relationship.

Both of us still get our fair share of nightmares, hers are a lot fresher than mine, but it's okay. Some wounds never heal, but life goes on.

The hardest part for my past self to believe and accept would be the kids. Our kids.

They're crazy and reckless and snarky and psychotic but we love them to bits. They're monsters, just like us. I don't know how our family doesn't self implode every other week.

I had never wanted to become a father, mostly because I was scared. My early life had been no picnic, and I didn't want that for anyone. The feeling only grew when I became a twice forgotten hero, slinking away into the shadows. But weird things happen to me. What I want never goes as planned.

The world has been out to get me my whole life, but I've learned to roll with the punches, because no matter how many times life throws me a knuckle sandwich and buckled me to the ground, I'm stubborn (and stupid) enough to get back up and keep fighting. Because I don't go down without a fight.

_. the end ._

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone! 
> 
> this was previously posted on my wattpad- so i have to fix the formatting but enjoy!! <333


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